CLERIC SENTENCED TO DEATH AFTER FLAWED TRIAL
Prominent Saudi Arabian Shi’a Muslim cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr has been sentenced to death on vague charges and after a deeply flawed trial. His conviction must be quashed and he should be released immediately in relation to these charges.
Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr was sentenced to death by the Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh, the capital, on 15 October for a list of offences including “disobeying and breaking allegiance to the ruler”, “calling to overthrow the regime”, “calling for demonstrations”, “inciting sectarian strife”, “questioning the integrity of the judiciary”, “meeting with and supporting wanted suspects”, and “interfering in a neighbouring state‟s affairs” (in reference to Bahrain).
Evidence for the charges that Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr was convicted of came from religious sermons and interviews attributed to the cleric. Amnesty International‟s review of these texts confirms that he was exercising his right to free expression and was not inciting violence. A number of charges, including disobeying the ruler, should not be offences at all as they criminalize the peaceful exercise of the right to freedom of expression and other human rights. Other charges are vague and have been abused here to punish the exercise of human rights.The trial that commenced at the Specialized Criminal Court on 25 March 2013 was also deeply flawed. The cleric was denied the most basic needs to prepare for his defence, including regular access to his lawyer and a pen and some paper to respond to the charges. Key eyewitnesses were allowed not to testify in court in violation of Saudi Arabian laws, and his lawyer was not informed of the dates of a number of court hearings.
Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, who is the Imam of al-Awamiyya mosque in al-Qatif, eastern Saudi Arabia, was arrested without an arrest warrant on 8 July 2012 when security officers forced his car to stop and shot him when he refused to accompany them. He spent most of his detention in solitary confinement in military hospitals and in al-Ha‟ir Prison in Riyadh. He has been paralyzed in one leg because of the incident leading to his arrest and needs urgent medical attention to remove a
second bullet in his back.

Source: Amnesty International