RIYADH

Saudi Arabia has executed a prominent Shiite cleric behind anti-government protests along with 46 other men, drawing condemnation from Iran and Iraq.

The execution of Nimr al-Nimr and the others, including Shiite activists and Sunnis accused of involvement in Al-Qaeda attacks, was announced by the interior ministry.

It prompted calls for demonstrations, with the brother of the 56-year-old cleric warning it could stir trouble in oil-rich Eastern Province where Shiites complain of marginalisation.

“This action will spark anger in Saudi Arabia,” said Mohammed al-Nimr.

The ministry said the 47 men were convicted of adopting the radical “takfiri” ideology, joining terrorist organisations and implementing criminal plots.

A list published by the Saudi Press Agency included Sunni Muslims convicted of involvement in Al-Qaeda attacks that killed Saudis and foreigners in 2003 and 2004.

One of those executed was Fares al-Shuwail, described by Saudi media as Al-Qaeda’s top religious leader in the kingdom. He was arrested in 2004.

Notably absent from the list, however, was Nimr’s nephew, Ali al-Nimr, whose arrest at the age of 17 and alleged torture during detention sparked condemnation from rights groups and the US.

Except for an Egyptian and a Chadian, all those executed were Saudis.

Some were beheaded while others were executed by firing squad, said interior ministry spokesman Mansur al-Turki.

Executions have since King Salman acceded the throne in January 2015, with 153 people, including convicted drug-traffickers, put to death last year, nearly twice as many as in 2014.

OUTRAGE
The executions also drew condemnation from the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah.

“The Saudi government supports terrorist movements and extremists, but confronts domestic critics with oppression and execution,” said Hossein Jaber Ansari, spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry.

“The Saudi government will pay a high price for following these policies,” the official IRNA news agency quoted him as saying.

He said Nimr’s execution “merely shows the extent of irresponsibility and impudence”.

Hezbollah accused Saudi Arabia’s rulers of being global criminals denouncing Nimr’s execution as a heinous crime.

In Riyadh, Turki said Iran’s reaction was irresponsible.

“We are confident with what we’re doing and believe in it and do not care how others view our procedures,” he told a news conference.

Justice ministry spokesman Mansur al-Qafari said interference in the kingdom’s judiciary was unacceptable.

Rights groups have repeatedly raised concern about the fairness of trials in Saudi Arabia, where murder, drug trafficking, armed robbery, rape and apostasy are all punishable by death.

Iran’s Basij student militia connected to the country’s elite Revolutionary Guards called for a demonstration on Sunday outside the Saudi embassy.

In Bahrain, dozens of youths from the majority Shiite population staged protests outside Manama to denounce the executions.