Riyadh: A Saudi Arabian court has sentenced to death an activist convicted of sedition, rioting, protesting and robbery in the district of Qatif, home to many of the kingdom’s Shiite sect who say they face entrenched discrimination.
The judge’s decision to apply the penalty can still be challenged in an appeal court, the supreme court and then by petitioning the king.
More than 20 people have been killed in Qatif since February 2011 when large protests erupted calling for democracy and equal rights between the sects.
Demonstrations have continued sporadically. Some funerals for local people killed by security forces have also attracted thousands of mourners.
The government has said most of those killed died in shootouts between gunmen and the security forces and that police have been regularly shot at and attacked with petrol bombs, but local activists say some were shot during peaceful protests.
Ali Al Nimr, who is 18 according to activists, was convicted of sedition, breaking allegiance to the king, rioting, bearing arms, using petrol bombs against security patrols, robbing a pharmacy and stealing surveillance cameras.
Al Nimr, who activists said was 17 at the time of his arrest, was also convicted of chanting anti-state slogans in illegal protests and inciting others to demonstrate, state media reported.
The conviction of Al Nimr, a nephew of Shaikh Nimr Al Nimr, a prominent Shiite cleric who is also on trial, follows that of Redha Al Rubh, 26, the son of another cleric who has been critical of the authorities.
The two are part of a group of around a dozen defendants now on trial for their part in protests and violent unrest in Qatif, including Shaikh Nimr, particularly in the village of Awamiya, where police officers and facilities have been attacked.
Shaikh Nimr’s arrest in July 2012, during which he was shot in the leg, prompted protests in which three people died.
King Abdullah has appointed several Shiites to the 150-strong advisory Shura council and included Shiite leaders in “national dialogue” meetings where officials hear from representatives of different groups in society.
The authorities have also accused some of those involved in the Qatif unrest of acting on behalf of a foreign power, which officials privately identify as Iran. Activists in Qatif say that is untrue.
