World angry with Sheikh Nimr’s death penalty: Analyst

Press TV has conducted an interview with Jalal Fairooz, a Middle East expert from London, to get his take on Saudi court’s decision to confirm an execution sentence against Sheikh Nimr Baqr al-Nimr, a pro-reform cleric in the Saudi kingdom.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: What consequences could Sheikh Nimr’s execution have for Saudi Arabia?

Fairooz: Well, first of all it seems that the Saudis have find a crucial evidence against Sheikh Nimr regarding what he was charged for that he was struggling against the government. That’s why they dropped the sentence of the crucifixion, but they held up the death penalty because the charge is that he has disobeyed the king.

Actually, this is a very silly charge against Sheikh Nimr that disobeying the king, for that he has to be killed. Of course, there are similar charges for example in Jordan, it’s seven years imprisonment for the charge of disobeying the king.

In the case of Sheikh Nimr now the people all around the world are very angry that the supreme court of the Saudis has approved the death penalty and it is only for the King Salman bin Abdulaziz to endorse it and then they will behead Sheikh Nimr.

Usually, in these cases the endorsement by the king is not being announced, but once it’s being done secretly, then next day the execution is carried out. It might be the same thing for the five youngsters who are on the death penalty rule. It seems that the Saudis are committing a very foolish step if they go ahead with this.

Sheikh Nimr is one person, sooner or later he will die, but what will be the consequences for the Saudis the whole world would be against them and the world will be seeing how brutal this regime is. I think all the hatred would be like a very big storm in the face of the Saudis.

Press TV: You’re talking about Saudi Arabia and the world, understanding what Saudis are doing, but Saudi Arabia is already under a lot of fire for it’s unlawful war in Yemen, which has killed more than 7,000 people. It also got appalling rights record especially when it comes to discriminating against the Shia minority in the country. Why do you think countries like the US, who are the staunch allies of the kingdom, not reacting to stories like these, denouncing what’s going on in the Saudi kingdom?

Fairooz: It’s very obvious that the Saudi allies, specially the US and the UK, are very embarrassed. The governments are very embarrassed because all the press in the US and the UK are daily writing about this brutality of the Saudis, the killing of the Yemenis, all the backing of the terrorists in Syria and Iraq and everywhere, causing problems in the region.

So, it is more and more embarrassing for the governments. This is a slash on the face of David Cameron, who has called for the Saudis to be in the United Nations Human Rights Council. Over here in the UK, there is very big stone being rugged against David Cameron for backing the Saudis in this case.

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