Iran Press/ Middle East: The Saudis executed Sheikh Nimr, defying international calls to release him. The execution sparked international condemnations and angry protests in many countries.
Muslims in different countries commemorated the third anniversary of execution of top Saudi Shia opposition leader Sheikh Nimr by al-Saud regime, according to Iran Press.
Sheikh Nimr was born 21 June 1959 in al-Awamiyah in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province. He studied religious sciences in Iran and Syria. As of 2008 he entered political activities against the ruling regime of Saudi Arabia demanding equal rights for the Shiite minority of which he was a member.
In 2009 he was arrested along with 35 other people. During the 2011–12 Saudi Arabian protests, al-Nimr called on protesters to resist police bullets using "the roar of the word" rather than violence and predicted the collapse of the Al Saud regime if repression continued.
On 8 July 2012 Saudi police shot al-Nimr in the leg and arrested him in what police described as an "exchange of gunfire". Saudi police also fired into a crowd of thousands who protested al-Nimr's arrest, killing two people.
On 15 October 2014 the outspoken cleric was sentenced to death by the Specialized Criminal Court for seeking 'foreign meddling' in Saudi Arabia and 'disobeying' its rulers. He was executed on or shortly before 2 January 2016, along with 46 others. His execution was faced with widespread protests at the time. 101/205
