At the opening of his Fiqh course in A‘zam Mosque in Qom, Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi condemned the death sentence issued for Sheik Nemer, one of the Shiite scholars and activists in Saudi Arabia.
Describing the sentence as “outrageous and cruel” his eminence noted: “Sheik Nemer had not created a tumult and had not done anything wrong to deserve such a sentence; he had only given some impassioned speeches which were indicative of his free spirit”.
Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi further stated: “in our country convicts write letters in the prison against the Leader and the government and no one does anything to stop or punish them and such a sentence is never issued about such people unless when they create a tumult or insurrection”.
Calling such a sentence for Ayatollah Sheik Nemer outrageous and cruel, his eminence said: “unfortunately the Shiites in Saudi Arabia are under great pressure and they have no freedom for holding religious ceremonies, their rights are violate, and they are deprived of having many kinds of professions”.
He further noted: “Saudi Arabia must realize that if they proceed to do this, they will incur the wrath and the hatred of all Shiites and those of all of the Sunnite libertarians and they will have to pay very high prices for it.”
Criticizing the double standards and the contradictory policies of the US and other human rights pretenders, his eminence asserted: “when in our country the smallest action is taken against a member of some deviated sect, the US Congress begins such astonishingly massive propaganda against us; however, in Saudi Arabia the Shiites are deprived of their basic rights but they never speak a word about it”.
Bringing up the question of why the US Congress has remained silent about this outrageous and cruel sentence and about the violation of the basic rights of the Shiites in Saudi Arabia, he asserted: “this fact is evidence that the claims made by the West about democracy and human rights are all but lies”.
Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi reiterated: “I repeat that this sentence will entail unpredictable consequences for Saudi Arabia and I do not think those who are wise among them would proceed to e x e c u t e this sentence”.
