Saudi Arabia has executed 47 people including prominent Shia Muslim cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and an alleged Al Qaeda leader in the kingdom Faris Zahrani, the Saudi Interior Ministry said Saturday. All 47 people were executed for terrorism, according to BBC. Forty-five of the convicts were Saudi nationals while two were foreign nationals, a Chadian and an Egyptian.
The cleric was also accused of fuelling anti-government protests between 2011 and 2013. Nimr al-Nimr's execution sparked strong reactions from Muslim Shia clerics, international rights organizations and Saudi critics.
A leading Iranian cleric, Ahmad Khatami, lashed out at Saudi rulers saying that they will be wiped from the pages of history for executing the cleric, according to Russia Today. The cleric's brother Mohammed al-Nimr, however, appealed for peaceful reactions to his brother's execution.
"Sheikh Nimr enjoyed high esteem in his community and within Muslim society in general and no doubt there will be reaction. We hope that any reactions would be confined to a peaceful framework. No one should have any reaction outside the peaceful framework. Enough bloodshed," al-Nimr told Reuters.
Amnesty International recently expressed concern over the increase in executions in Saudi Arabia, which executed 157 people last year as compared to 90 in 2014, according to Telegraph.
Read some Twitter reactions and watch a speech by al-Nimr below.
I'm really out of words. I'm angry & I want to cry. Saudi Arabia beheads 47 people including Shia cleric & activist Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.
— Rana Harbi (@RanaHarbi) January 2, 2016
An immense sorrowful day that I woke up to this heart wrenching news that Sheikh Nimr Al-Nimr has been executed. https://t.co/hCxMxJaelk — ع (@liXaidi) January 2, 2016
May God bless your soul, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. You died a martyr of conscience. pic.twitter.com/rGrxG53YFj
— Iyad El-Baghdadi (@iyad_elbaghdadi) January 2, 2016
