On October 15, Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr was sentenced to death by the Specialized Criminal Court in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for “disobeying the ruler”, “inciting sectarian strife” and “encouraging, leading and participating in demonstrations”. This conviction appears to based on a seriously flawed trial and is a part of a larger campaign by officials in Saudi Arabia to annihilate dissenting voices including those human rights defenders advocating for the Kingdom’s Shi’a Muslim community. As a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia must do better to safeguard human rights defenders, ensure fair trials and protect human rights within its own borders.  The Kingdom’s inability to do so calls into question not only its commitment to Human Rights but also its membership in the United Nations Human Rights Council—the body responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe and for addressing situations of human rights violations and make recommendations on them.

IMI’s UN team urge you to write to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Human Rights Council President, and the Ambassador for the Permanent Mission of Saudi Arabia to the UN to quash this verdict and raise their voice in opposition to this deeply troubling judgment.