Saudi King Suspends Death Sentence for Sheikh Nimr

After Rafsanjani’s Letter

Saudi King Abdullah has stopped the death sentence given to prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. The king reportedly took the action after receiving a letter from Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, warning of serious consequences of Nimr’s execution in Shia-Sunni relations, Iraqi new website al-Youm al-Samen reported on Sunday.

“In this period of time that conspiracies have targeted the land of the Islamic Ummah, stopping the sentence for Ayatollah Sheik Nimr Bagher al-Nimr will disappoint those who sow discord, will increase interaction and settle the problems of the Muslim world,” Hashemi Rafsanjani said his letter to King Abdullah, dated 25 October. “Muslims expect you to take such a decision.” (Al-Youm al-Samen/Fars News Agency, 2 November)

A Saudi court handed down the death penalty against the Shia cleric on 15 October after convicting him of sedition for delivering anti-regime speeches and defending political prisoners. Amnesty International has denounced the sentence as “appalling.”

The execution of Sheikh Nimr could have had dangerous repercussions in Saudi-Iran relations and could have further inflamed the current Sunni-Shia conflict in the region.

File photo: Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani (FNA)