Ayatollah Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr (21 June 1959 – 2 January 2016), commonly referred to as Sheikh Nimr, was a Saudi Shia sheikh from Al-Awamiyah in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province. His arrest and execution were widely condemned by various governments and human rights organizations.
He was popular among youth and critical of the Saudi Arabian government, advocating for free elections in Saudi Arabia. In 2006, al-Nimr was arrested by Saudi authorities, during which he claimed to have been beaten by the Mabahith, a Saudi secret police agency. In 2009, he criticized Saudi authorities and suggested that if the rights of Saudi Shia were not respected, the Eastern Province should secede. In response, Saudi authorities arrested al-Nimr along with 35 others. During the 2011–12 Saudi Arabian protests, al-Nimr urged protestors to resist police bullets with "the roar of the word" rather than violence. The Guardian described al-Nimr as having "taken the lead in [the] uprising."
On 8 July 2012, Saudi police shot al-Nimr in the leg and arrested him in what police described as an "exchange of gunfire." During the protests against al-Nimr's arrest, police fired into a crowd of thousands, killing two men, Akbar al-Shakhouri and Mohamed al-Felfel. Following his arrest, al-Nimr began a hunger strike and was allegedly tortured. The Asharq Center for Human Rights expressed concern for his health during the hunger strike on 21 August, calling for international support to allow access for family, lawyers, and human rights activists.
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." On the same day, his brother, Mohammad al-Nimr, was arrested for tweeting information about the death sentence. 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 announced that his body would not be handed over to the family. In March 2017, after a prolonged campaign of harassment, Saudi security forces killed two cousins of the Nimr family during a raid on a farm in eastern Saudi Arabia. Miqdad and Mohammad al-Nimr were killed at a farm in Awamiyah, the Nimr family hometown.
Early life, family and education
Al-Nimr began his religious studies in Al-Awamiyah, and then moved to Iran in 1980 to complete his education. He studied at the Al-Qaim seminary in Tehran, primarily under Ayatollah Ali-Akbar al-Modarresi, the younger brother of Grand Ayatollah Muhammad-Taqi al-Modarresi, as well as other senior scholars.
After the Al-Qaim seminary was closed down by the Iranian government, al-Nimr moved to Damascus, Syria. He initially followed Grand Ayatollah Muhammad al-Shirazi and later followed Grand Ayatollah al-Modarresi.
As of 2008, al-Nimr was independent of the two main political groups in the Eastern Province Shia community: Islahiyyah (the Shirazis) and Hezbollah Al-Hejaz (Saudi Hezbollah).
Al-Nimr had been the leader of Friday prayers in Al-Awamiyah since 2008.
Al-Nimr supported a governance model that represented "something between" individual and council forms of guardianship of the Islamic Jurists. He advocated for Kurdish majority control of Iraqi Kurdistan. Al-Nimr believed that Shia ayatollahs would not promote violence or "murder in the name of God," and he supported "the idea of elections."
Al-Nimr criticized Bahrain's monarchy for suppressing anti-government demonstrations in Bahrain in 2011. He also condemned Syria's Bashar Assad, stating, "(Bahrain's ruling family) Al Khalifa are oppressors, and the Sunnis are innocent of them. They're not Sunnis, they're tyrants. The Assads in Syria are oppressors ... We do not defend oppressors and those oppressed shouldn't defend the oppressor."
In August 2008, al-Nimr stated that he viewed U.S. citizens as natural allies of Shia Muslims, as both share a mindset "based on justice and liberty." He told a diplomat that he believed in these "American ideals."
He believed that the Saudi state is "particularly reactionary" and that "agitation" is necessary to influence the state in general and the Saudi state in particular. According to John Kincannon, Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. embassy in Riyadh, al-Nimr made statements that were "perceived as supporting Iran." In August 2008, he stated that he believed Iran and other states outside of Saudi Arabia acted mainly out of self-interest rather than religious solidarity, and he distanced himself from Iran.
Al-Nimr criticized Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who was the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, following Nayef's death in June 2012. He stated that "people must rejoice at [Nayef's] death" and that "he will be eaten by worms and will suffer the torments of Hell in his grave."
Al-Nimr was described by The Guardian as "[seeming] to have become the most popular Saudi Shia cleric among local youth" in October 2011. He maintained his popularity in 2012, with thousands of people participating in street demonstrations in Qatif in support of him following his arrest in July 2012.
The Saudi authorities reportedly detained al-Nimr for the first time in 2003 for leading public prayers in the village of Al-Awamiyah. He was detained for several days in 2004. In 2006, he was arrested by the Mabahith and beaten during his detention. Residents of Al-Awamiyah campaigned to support him, and he was released after several days.
In February 2009, an incident occurred in Medina involving differences in Shia and Sunni customs at the tomb of Muhammad. This incident included the filming of Shia women by the religious police, protests by Shia in Medina, and subsequent arrests. Six children were arrested between 4 and 8 March for participating in a protest on 27 February in Safwa.
Al-Nimr criticized the authorities' actions in Medina in February and specifically called out the Minister of Interior for discrimination against Saudi Arabian Shia. In a sermon, he threatened secession, stating "Our dignity has been pawned away, and if it is not ... restored, we will call for secession. Our dignity is more precious than the unity of this land."