On Sunday August 10, 2014 a large number of Bahraini Shia took to the streets on the island of Sitra to show solidarity with Sheik Nimr al Nimr who has been in Saudi Prison for two years.
Sheik Nimr was attacked and arrested while en route to his home in Saudi Arabia’s Al-Qatif region on July 8, 2012. The Sheik was subsequently charged with disturbing the country’s security, giving anti-government speeches, and defending political prisoners. These charges have earned the sheik a death sentence which has sparked outrage among the international community. He was scheduled to be sentences on August 12th but it was postponed by the Saudi authorities.
Who is Sheik Nimr al-Nimr?
Sheik Nimr Baqr al-Nimr is an independent Shia sheik in Saudi Arabia’s eastern province called Al-Awamiyah. Sheik Nimr is popular among the youth in the area, and is also an active critic of the Saudi government. He has been a sheik in the area from 2008 or before according to wiki-leaks cables obtained from the American embassy in Riyadh. Educated in Syria and Iran, Sheik Nimr’s popularity derives from his appeal to the impoverished Saudi Shia community and those who wish to see improved relations between the Saudi government and the Shia community. The sheik’s popularity prompted fears in the Saudi government that he would spark uprisings in the country as evident in his first arrest by Saudi authorities in 2009. It is likely for this reason that when protest broke out in the eastern province in 2011, the Saudi government wanted to arrest him again. The sheik’s bold stance during the 2011-2012 protests led to him being described by The Guardian as a leader of the protests. While the Saudi security response was violent, Sheik Nimr urged the protestors to resist police bullets with “the roar of the word”, advocating a strategy of non-violent resistance.
International Response
The actions of the Saudi government have sparked fierce condemnation from the international community. Amnesty International censured Saudi Arabia repeatedly over a host of human rights violations, including the oppression of the Shia minority. Shia Rights Watch has been a vocal critic of the Saudi government, citing article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which prohibits the arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile, to condemn the arrest and sentencing of two Shia protestors earlier this year.
In addition to the actions being taken on the ground, online campaigns have been launched as well to garner support for the release of Sheik Nimr:
- There is currently a petition circulating to demand the release of the sheik here
- There is also a facebook page devoted to raising support for the release of the sheik here
- Hashtags #FreeSheikNimr and #SaveAyatollahNemer are circulating around social media as well
The uprisings that occurred in 2011 resulted in the arrests of over 900 people, with 300 remaining in jail today. There are currently around 30,000 political prisoners in Saudi Arabian prisons today.
