#FreeSheikhNimr: Write to your MP to condemn Saudi Kingdom’s sentencing of clericShared By HR on October 16, 2014 Below is a email/letter template you can use, amend and send to your MP asking for them to highlight the case in parliament and to ask for the Australian government condemn and/or intervene in the pending execution of the falsely accused Saudi cleric. Sheikh Nimr has been charged on grounds of “undermining national unity” as well as several other sectarian and politically motivated charges. Please use the template below and share with all your contacts, write to your political representative. Dear Sir/ Madame, I am writing as a constituent of yours to draw your attention to a neglected case involving the unlawful and unjust arrest and planned execution of a Shia cleric in the Eastern provinces of Saudi Arabia. Sheikh Nimr Al Nimr’s outspoken nature and courageous stand for the oppressed religious minority group in the country lead to his arrest in 2012 where he received four gunshots and was denied medical treatment according to reports. Jailed for over 800 days, mostly in solitary confinement with long periods of lack of access to him by his lawyer and family, Sheikh Nimr has been the pivotal figure & leader in the uprising against the regime since 2011. However, Saudi officials have been adamant to quell and squash the uprising, hence the harsh lengthy imprisonment and subsequent sentence. The Kingdom has a long history and track record of human rights abuses, one such being the Mabahith secret police agency which detains political opponents, tortures, and interrogates them. This agency acts with impunity, and has affiliated prisons in which it keeps political dissidents in. The Islamic Human Rights Commission estimates 30,000 people have been kept in these prisons, and the fact that the Saudi Arabian interior ministry denies any dissidents being kept in these facilities, raises considerable questions as to the treatment of these prisoners. The Sheikh has been sentenced to execution; an inhumane punishment of the worst kind. He will be beheaded, and then his body left out in public display as a warning. With the region filled with more turmoil than ever before, Saudi Arabia and its Western allies MUST acknowledge the substantive consequences should this execution take place. The execution of Sheikh Al Nimr will cause uproar across the oil-rich Eastern province as well as neighbouring countries such as Yemen where the Shia Houthi group are now in full control. As you are aware, tensions are already on high alert in the Middle East with the rise of ISIS and we cannot afford further chaos to take place. As flag bearers of human rights, I expect Australia to stand against such injustice and support the calls of the people. My request, as your constituent, is that you use your influence to the best of your abilities to both highlight this case and persuade the Australian government to condemn and intervene in the execution of Sheikh Nimr al Nimr. amnesty.org/en/news/saudi-arabia-appalling-death-sentence-against-shi-cleric-must-be-quashed-2014-10-15 Yours sincerely, [your name here]
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 22:47:54 +0000
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