Iran’s Shamkhani: Execution of Sheikh Nimr Example of Crime against Humanity

Speaking in a meeting with Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen in Tehran on Monday, Shamkhani said the execution was a violation of all human, religious and legal norms by the Arab country.

“Killing a religious scholar who had never been involved in any subversive or illegal activities and whose only weapon was guidance, advice, and promotion of justice and freedom, is an undeniable example of crime against humanity,” he went on to say.

The Danish top diplomat, for his part, emphasized that his country condemns Saudi Arabia for executing the top Shiite cleric.

Jensen added that the Saudi government’s failure to pay heed to the legal rights of dissidents and hold fair trials and its use of the death sentence as a tool to crack down on opposition is not acceptable at all.

Saudi Arabia’s execution of 47 prisoners, including Sheikh Nimr, on Saturday drew global condemnation.

The executions took place in 12 cities in Saudi Arabia, four prisons using firing squads and the others beheading. The bodies were then hanged from gibbets in the most severe form of punishment available in the kingdom's law.

Sheikh Nimr had been detained in July 2012 on charges of delivering anti-regime speeches and defending political prisoners.