RIYADH: A Saudi court yesterday sentenced prominent Shia cleric and anti-government protest leader Nimr Al Nimr to death after convicting him of sedition, his family said.
The verdict risks a further escalation of tensions with Saudi Arabia’s minority Shia community.
Nimr was a driving force behind demonstrations against the Sunni authorities that erupted in 2011 in the oil-flush east, alongside a Shia-led protest movement in neighbouring Bahrain.
The cleric was also convicted of seeking “foreign meddling” in the country, a reference to Iran, his brother Mohammed Al Nimr wrote on Twitter. He was found guilty of “disobeying” the kingdom’s rulers and taking up arms against security forces, his brother said.
SANA’A: Yemen’s Shia Houthi rebels seized more territory south of the capital yesterday and set off deadly clashes with Al Qaeda as they rapidly expand their area of control.
Already in control of Sana’a since September 21 and the strategic port city of Hudeida since Tuesday, the rebels yesterday appeared to have taken control of two more provinces, Dhamar and Ibb, security officials said. Just as in Sana’a and Hudeida, the rebels faced no opposition as they entered the two provinces and set up checkpoints, the officials said.Agencies
