Saudi executions

Ban Ki-moon �deeply dismayed�

AFP, GENEVA: chief Ban Ki-moon said he was "deeply dismayed" by Saudi Arabia's execution of 47 people including a prominent Shiite cleric, whose death sparked violent protests in Iran, a spokesman said Saturday. Nimr al-Nimr, the executed cleric who spent more than a decade studying theology in Iran, a Shiite power, was a driving force behind 2011 anti-government protests in the Sunni kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Following his execution Saturday, angry crowds hurled petrol bombs outside the Saudi embassy in Tehran before storming the building. Protests also broke out in at least one city in Saudi Arabia's oil-rich Eastern Province, where Shiites complain of marginalization, as well as in Iraq and Bahrain. Ban's spokesman said the UN chief was "deeply dismayed over the recent execution by Saudi Arabia of 47 people." Deploring the violence outside the Saudi embassy in Tehran, he called for "calm and restraint" and urged "all regional leaders to work to avoid the exacerbation of sectarian tensions," his spokesman said in a statement. Executions have soared in Saudi Arabia since King Salman ascended the throne a year ago. Rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns about the fairness of trials in the kingdom, where murder, drug trafficking, armed robbery, rape and apostasy are all punishable by death.

Saudi executions

Ban Ki-moon �deeply dismayed�

AFP, GENEVA: chief Ban Ki-moon said he was deeply dismayed by Saudi Arabias execution of 47 people including a prominent Shiite cleric, whose death sparked violent protests in Iran, a spokesman said Saturday. Nimr al-Nimr, the executed cleric who spent more than a decade studying theology in Iran, a Shiite power, was a driving force behind 2011 anti-government protests in the Sunni kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Following his execution Saturday, angry crowds hurled petrol bombs outside the Saudi embassy in Tehran before storming the building. Protests also broke out in at least one city in Saudi Arabias oil-rich Eastern Province, where Shiites complain of marginalization, as well as in Iraq and Bahrain. Bans spokesman said the UN chief was deeply dismayed over the recent execution by Saudi Arabia of 47 people. Deploring the violence outside the Saudi embassy in Tehran, he called for calm and restraint and urged all regional leaders to work to avoid the exacerbation of sectarian tensions, his spokesman said in a statement. Executions have soared in Saudi Arabia since King Salman ascended the throne a year ago. Rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns about the fairness of trials in the kingdom, where murder, drug trafficking, armed robbery, rape and apostasy are all punishable by death.