Saudi Arabia Executes 47 as Terrorists Including Shiite Cleric… Iran Vows Revenge

Saudi Arabia Executes 47 as Terrorists Including Shiite Cleric… Iran Vows Revenge

Saudi Arabia announced today that it had executed 47 prisoners convicted of terrorism charges, including al Qaida detainees and a prominent Shiite cleric who rallied protests against the government. Iran is vowing that Saudi Arabia will deeply regret that move. The execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr will definitely deepen discontent and stir more protests among Saudi Arabia’s Shiite minority, largely concentrated in the kingdom’s east. Protests may also erupt in neighboring Bahrain, which has seen low-level violence since the 2011 protests by its Shiite majority demanding greater rights from its Sunni-led monarchy. These terrorists were executed for carrying out deadly bombings and shootings in Saudi Arabia. You can expect to see revenge attacks over this move and one of those may come directly from Iran. They seem to be just itching for a fight somewhere these days.

Saudi Arabia

From The New York Times:

Saudi Arabia drew condemnation from Iran and its allies in the region on Saturday after putting to death a prominent Shiite cleric who had criticized the government’s treatment of its Shiite minority, in a mass execution of 47 men on terrorism-related charges.

Saudi officials said the mass execution, one of the largest in the kingdom in decades, was aimed at deterring those committed to violence against the state. But analysts said that the grouping of the cleric, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, with hardened militants was a message to dissidents, and that it could exacerbate sectarian tensions across the Middle East.

The executions were the first of 2016 and followed a year in which at least 157 people were put to death, the conservative Muslim kingdom’s highest yearly total in two decades.

They coincided with increased attacks on Saudi Arabia’s Sunni monarchy by the jihadists of the Islamic State as well as with an escalating rivalry with Shiite Iran that has fueled conflicts in Syria, Yemen and elsewhere.

The names of the 47 that were executed were released in a statement by the Saudi Press Agency. National television also reported on the executions. 45 of the executed were Saudi citizens, one was from Chad and another was from Egypt. Among those who saw their death sentences carried out was Faris al-Shuwail, who was arrested in 2004 and was a major player in al Qaeda’s Saudi branch. He was swept up in a crackdown after a series of murderous attacks. A Saudi lawyer in the eastern region of the kingdom told The Associated Press that al-Nimr was among at least four Shiite political detainees who were executed. The lawyer spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. The executions took place in Riyadh along with 12 other cities and towns. I assume all of them were beheaded as is the custom for executions in that country. They were carried out inside prisons and not in front of the public. Neither side here is innocent, but Saudi Arabia is not timid about executing terrorists and enemies of the state there.

Terresa Monroe-Hamilton

Terresa Monroe-Hamilton is an editor and writer for Right Wing News. She owns and blogs at NoisyRoom.net. She is a Constitutional Conservative and NoisyRoom focuses on political and national issues of interest to the American public. Terresa is the editor at Trevor Loudon's site, New Zeal - trevorloudon.com. She also does research at KeyWiki.org. You can email Terresa here. NoisyRoom can be found on Facebook and on Twitter.

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