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After launching its war on the impoverished Persian Gulf country Yemen in 2015, killing, injuring and displacing thousands of innocent civilians, it is not a surprise for the world to enter the new year to the news that the Saudi regime has committed a mass execution of 47 people including Sheikh Nirm Baqer al-Nimr on Saturday Morning.

Prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr was killed along with the 46 people, all under the alleged accusation of ‘terrorism’.

These accusations of ‘terrorism’ are in reality peaceful opposition protests that prove the al-Saud government intolerable to any type of democratic demonstrations, as it silences voices of truth or voices of peaceful and civilized objection calling for reforms.

Sheikh Nimr was attacked and arrested in Qatif in July 2012, and has been charged with allegedly undermining the kingdom’s security, making anti-government speeches, and defending political prisoners. He has denied the accusations and made clear his demands in different sermons.

The cleric was known for his peaceful speeches and opposition activities, which demonstrates that calling such approaches as ‘acts of terrorism’ clearly shows that the Saudis are no better than oppressors towards their people.

Looking at the verdict itself, it is noteworthy that the unjustified ruling was issued in Saudi intelligence chambers rather than in courts and judiciary systems, in an attempt to put an end to objections and demands of the people regarding the minorities and women’s rights.

Sheikh Nimr’s speeches outline was a battle where “the roar of the word is mightier than the sound of bullets,” in which he always explained that “the Saudi authorities would want protesters to use weapons, because the security forces know that they have the military advantage”.

He frequently insisted that: protesters should rely on their words; that they can win their demands from the government by adhering to their principles, but they have no chance if they choose the path of violence, according to one of his sermons.

Despite his reiteration in different sermons that the Saudi minorities should face the subjugation of the government with peaceful objection, the Saudi government and media have been trying to paint a different image using their propaganda machines. The Saudi government claimed that Sheikh Nimr incited violence against the security forces in the country, also claiming that he tried to incite sectarian strife among people.

The Saudi regime further continued to paint their own propaganda saying that Sheikh Nimr and al-Qaeda leaders as two sides of the same coin, even though all he defended and called for were freedom of expression and a peaceful revolution.

Seeking the source, in this case the sermons and actions of Sheikh Nimr, one can clearly see the difference between Sheikh Nimr’s peaceful and civilized approach and that of true terrorist groups like al-Qaeda that beheads people and burns them alive.

In his unprecedented petition for the administrative governor of the Eastern Province in 2007, Shiekh Nimr said that he and the people do not demand and will not demand anything that would threaten the security of Saudi Arabia or its people, or undermine its pillars, shorten its age or weaken its institutions, but rather achieve security, stability and strengthen its institutions while demanding to live with dignity.

In that petition, Sheikh Nimr clearly explained the philosophy behind the protests “the Shia ideology is a rejectionist one, which rejects injustice, oppression and persecution. At the same time, it is the best ideology capable to coexist with all religions, sects, systems and communities because it is an ideology that seeks reformation, peace and communal harmony, even if it faces injustice and oppression at the expense of their rights.”

Furthermore, he was accused of being an agent for Iran, even though he repeatedly assured that learning from the Iranian peaceful Islamic revolution does not imply having ties to that country. In a sermon given in spring 2012, Sheikh Nimr stated, “We have no ties with Iran or any other country. We are connected to our values, and we will defend them, even if your media continues with its distortions.”

Sheikh Nimr’s brother, Mohamad al-Nimr warned that his brother's execution "could provoke reactions as Sheikh Nimr had supporters in the Shia areas of the Islamic world, and that his execution could inflame protests against the Saudi regime as their action will offend over a billion and a half Muslims.

In February 2011, peaceful demonstrations erupted in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, with protesters demanding reforms, freedom of expression, the release of political prisoners, and an end to widespread discrimination against the people of the region. Several people have been killed and many others injured or arrested during the rallies.

Ali Mohammed Baqir al-Nimr, the cleric’s nephew, has also been sentenced to death over his alleged role in anti-regime protests in 2012, when he was 17 years old.

Shortly after Saudi court confirmed the death sentence against the Shiite cleric, Iran warned that the execution of leader of pro-democracy protests, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, would cost Riyadh dearly. Deputy foreign minister for Arab and African said that if Riyadh will venture and carry out the unjust verdict, it will cost the Saudi regime very dearly.