Seminar Discusses “Ayatollah Nimr and Future of Reforms in Saudi Arabia”
Organized by Najaf’s Cultural Society, it was attended by academic, cultural, social and political activists.
Addressing the seminar, Iraqi scholar Hisham al-Sabab underlined the need for stepping up social and political efforts to secure the release of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.
He said one of the reasons why Saudi Arabia has arrested and tortured the prominent cleric is Riyadh’s fear of the presence of a Shia leader in a oil-rich and wealthy region (in eastern Saudi Arabia).
Al-Sabab urged Shia media especially in Iraq to fulfill their moral and historical responsibility of infoming the world public opinion of the conditions of Sheikh Nimr.
Sheikh Nimr was sentenced to death last week by the Specialized Criminal Court in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, a move which drew sever criticism from Saudi people, Muslim figures and human rights organizations.
Nimr was given the death sentence on charges of disturbing the kingdom's security and making anti-government speeches.
He is the Imam of al-Awamiyya Mosque in Qatif and has spent most of his two-year detention in solitary confinement at the al-Ha’ir prison in Riyadh.
http://iqna.ir/fa/News/1464398
