News Desk NEWS DESK JANUARY 4, 2016 Iran and Saudi Arabia: The Showdown Between Islam’s Rival Powers
For decades, there were sporadic protests among Shiites in the eastern provinces, over economic and political grievances. Nimr was arrested in 2012, after a round of protests spawned by the Arab Spring. He was beheaded on Saturday for “breaking allegiance with the ruler,” instigating unrest, and “undermining the kingdom’s security.”
.. In an unusually candid statement on Saturday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that he was “deeply dismayed” by Nimr’s execution, and questioned “trials that raised serious concerns over the nature of the charges and the fairness of the process.” The European Union called into question “freedom of expression and the respect of basic civil and political rights” in Saudi Arabia. Jubeir rebuffed criticism of the executions. “We should be applauded for this, not criticized,” he said Monday, in an interview with Reuters.