Protesters gathered on Baghdad’s Tahrir Square to demonstrate against Saudi Arabia’s execution of prominent Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr, Wednesday.
Protesters called on Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi — a Shi’ite who has staked his credibility on efforts to reconcile with Sunnis — to shut a Saudi embassy that reopened only last month after decades of strained ties. Thousands of Shi’ites rallied in central Baghdad on Wednesday chanting slogans against the Saudi ruling family.
Abadi sent Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari to Tehran to help defuse the crisis. Speaking with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif, Jaafari said the row could have “wide-ranging repercussions”.
Jaafari: Iraq condemns Sheikh Nimr’s execution
The Iraqi foreign minister, for his part, condemned Saudi Arabia’s execution of Sheikh Nimr, describing him as a person who sought reforms and did not believe in use of arms.
“When I heard the news, I was shocked. I have talked to five or six Arab foreign ministers as well as the secretary general of the Arab League in this regard since yesterday,” Jaafari noted, adding that the goal of his consultation was to calm the situation and find a solution to this problem.
He also praised Tehran-Baghdad ties as very cordial, adding that Iran is no way after creating tension in the region.
Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday that the cleric was among 47 people to have been executed on “terrorism” charges. Demonstrators called for a boycott of Saudi commercial goods.
Sheikh Nimr was one of seven people accused of orchestrating anti-government protests that erupted in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province in 2011.
Saudi Arabia executed over 150 people in total during the course of last year.
The regime in Saudi Arabia has been strongly criticized by human rights organizations.
Saudi Arabia has been compared to Daesh in long time now, especially for their support of terrorist organizations in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
Hashtags #SueMeSaudi and #SaudiArabiaIsISIS has now many hits every minute, and many want to mark their opposition and to show their distance to the brutal dictator regime in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia practice Wahhabism ideology, a strictly fundamentalist orientation within Sunni Islam, which in practice is the state religion in the country. It is also ideology direction that has inspired al-Qaida and DAESH.
