(AhlulBayt News Agency) - AhlulBayt World Assembly has issued a statement on occasion of second anniversary of execution of Sheikh Nimr by Saudi government.
The full text of the statement is as follows:
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
And do not speak of those who are killed for the sake of Allah as ‘dead’; nay! They are alive; but you do not understand. (the Holy Quran)
On January 2nd 2016, the ruthless Saudi regime, through a filthy act, executed the grand scholar, Sheikh Baqer al-Nimr. This brutal and cowardly act proved that the cruel Saudi regime is a dictator and a backward regime opposed to all Islamic and human values and international laws.
Despite possessing the army, mercenaries, weapons and repression power, the Saudi regime feared Sheikh Nimr and all other liberators and strugglers of the right path. In his speeches, Sheikh Nimr accurately criticized the sectarian and discriminatory policies of the Saudi regime towards the people of the Al-Sharqiya area, especially in the cities of Ahsā and Qatif. He did this through a peaceful and legitimate move, without ever taking up arms.
The great martyr, Sheikh Baqir al-Nimr, criticized the Saudi regime for stripping the dignity of Saudi citizens, especially the Shiites, as the Saudi regime considered Shiites as "second-class citizens" who did not have full citizenship rights.
Sheikh Nimr asked for equality among all citizens without any discrimination; and insisted on free and clean elections in Saudi Arabia. He also demanded the rebuilding of the burial graves of the infallible Imams (peace be upon them) in the Baqee Cemetery of Medina, which were destroyed by the dirty hands of Saudi mercenaries.
Recognition of Shia school of thought as one of the Islamic sects and implementing reforms in the education system of Saudi Arabia were another demands of Sheikh Nimr.
In response, the Saudi regime committed a terrible crime against Sheikh Nimr on the basis of false accusations, without observing any justice and transparency. They pronounced a scandalous sentence, and eventually executed the death penalty against this great and innocent scholar.
The measure taken by the Saudi regime was contrary to all international agreements and fundamental principles of human rights. It was an attempt to hide the heavy and obvious failures of Saudi regime in the political, economic and military fields in Yemen as well as its illegal involvement in Iraq with the help and support of takfiri groups.
The Saudi regime has also been fully involved in suppressing peaceful demonstrations in Bahrain and occupying it through forces known as the Peninsula Shield Force.
The Ahlulbayt World Assembly, based on its religious, moral and human responsibility, strongly condemns these ugly and cruel acts against Islam and humanity.
We also express our concern about the continuation of such criminal acts, which are far from the spirit of Islam, against the prisoners in Al Saud's jails.
We urge all international organizations and defenders of freedom, including Muslim scholars, to condemn these horrible crimes.
The Ahlulbayt World Assembly also appeals to civil society figures and organizations to stand alongside the Saudi people and voice their solidarity with them in order to ensure their legitimate rights in the "Week for Solidarity with Shahid Nimr" under the slogan of "They did not kill him".
We ask the great personalities and organizations to stand up by their full power and capacity against the irrational action of the Saudi regime, and disclose the shameful acts of this authoritarian regime in various ways such as writing papers, holding meetings, delivering speeches, and conducting interviews through public media and cyberspace.
“The evildoers will surely know which turn (Hell) they will return to”
The Ahlulbayt World Assembly, Tehran
2 January, 2018
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