Saudi Arabia Police Kill 2 Protesters
July 9, 2012Police shot two men to death during a demonstration in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, activists reported Monday.
The demonstration, held in the city of Qatif, was held to protest the arrest of activist Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shi’ite cleric.
In addition to the two deaths, two “slightly wounded” individuals were reportedly ‘brought in to a nearby medical center by relatives,’ the government said in a statement to media that openly denied the protest itself had taken place.
“Gunshots have been overheard in random areas of the town. However, there was no security confrontation whatsoever,” the Interior Ministry said in its statement.
The ministry called the cleric an “instigator of sedition” in an earlier announcement that said he had been hurt in a car accident while being chased by police. The statement added that Nimr would be interrogated after receiving treatment for the leg injury he had sustained in the “accident.”
Nimr has said in a past speech that he believes his arrest or death in custody will motivate further protests to demand reforms, an end to sectarian discrimination and release of political prisoners, the BBC reported.
Saudi Arabia is ruled by the Sunni Muslim ibn Saud clan, but the oil-rich Eastern Province has long been a Shi’ite stronghold. It was in the Eastern Province that last year’s region-wide Arab Spring uprising ignited a small but fiery eruption in March 2011.
The protests in the province came in solidarity with Shi’ites in nearby Bahrain, where the Shi’ite majority is also ruled by a Sunni minority monarchy. Shi’ite demonstrations in Bahrain were crushed with assistance from Saudi Arabia.
Article source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/157671
Similar posts
-
Ahmadinejad Responds to Ben Affleck's Argo on SNL
May 19, 2013A skit from Saturday Night Live. The Iranian government's response to "Argo," is a film starring...
-
The 50 Most Influential Jews in the World for 2013
May 17, 2013The 50 most influential Jews in the world according to the Jerusalem Post: 1. Yair Lapid 2. Jack...
-
Amy Winehouse Exhibit at Jewish Museum in London
May 12, 2013Late UK pop star Amy Winehouse is to have an exhibition dedicated to her life and career at the ...
-
5 Famous Christmas Songs Written by Jewish Songwriters
May 12, 20131. "White Christmas" - While there are more than five Christmas carols written by Jewish songwriter...
-
Israel is Finding the Keys to Long Life
May 12, 2013The field of biogerontology began in Israel, and recently world experts gathered here to compare the...
-
Gwyneth Paltrow: World's Most Beautiful Woman 2013, Jewish
May 12, 2013With cinema fans excitedly awaiting the release of Iron Man 3 - dubbed the film of the season --...
-
Parody of FBI Investigating Motive of the Bombers
May 12, 2013This skit is performed by Latma. The politically correct FBI just can't figure out the motive of t...
-
Pictures of Israeli Female Soldiers
May 12, 2013There is no doubt that the most beautiful, courageous, and intelligent female soldiers in the world ...
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
