Portal:Shia Islam/Selected biography/7

Nimr Baqir al-Nimr (Arabic: نمر باقر النمر) (21 June 1959 – 2 January 2016) commonly referred to as Sheikh Nimr, was a Shia Sheikh in al-Awamiyah in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province whose arrest and execution created diplomatic tension between Shia and Sunni governments. He was popular among youth and critical of the Saudi Arabian government, calling for free elections in Saudi Arabia. He was arrested by Saudi authorities in 2006, at which time al-Nimr said he was beaten by the Mabahith. In 2009, he criticised Saudi authorities and suggested that if Saudi Shia rights were not respected, the Eastern Province should secede. Saudi authorities responded by arresting al-Nimr and 35 others. During the 2011–12 Saudi Arabian protests, al-Nimr called for protestors to resist police bullets using "the roar of the word" rather than violence. On 8 July 2012 Saudi police shot al-Nimr in the leg and arrested him in what police described as an "exchange of gunfire." On 15 October 2014 al-Nimr was sentenced to death by the Specialized Criminal Court for "seeking 'foreign meddling' in Saudi Arabia, 'disobeying' its rulers and taking up arms against the security forces." Al-Nimr was executed on or shortly before 2 January 2016, along with 46 others. His execution was condemned by Iran and Shiites throughout the Middle East, as well as by Western figures and Sunnis opposed to sectarianism. The Saudi government said the body would not be handed over to the family.