Hezbollah calls for release of Shia cleric Sheikh Nemr al-Nemr

Hezbollah calls for release of Shia cleric Sheikh Nemr al-Nemr
Saudi Arabia – Sheikh Nemr al-Nemr

The Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah has strongly condemned the arrest of Shia cleric Sheikh Nemr al-Nemr by the Saudi Arabian government and has called for his immediate release, Press TV reports.

On Monday, Hezbollah issued a statement censuring the “violent lash out of Saudi security on peaceful protestors in the city of Awamiyah and the Qatif region; which led to the fall of martyrs and wounded.”

Hezbollah expressed concern over the arrest and called for the “rapid release of his eminence Sheikh al-Nemr, for the provision of necessary medical aid for the sheikh, and for the respect of religious figures.”

“Hezbollah calls on the Saudi authorities to respect all religious figures and stop the practice of non-democratic measures in the face of the peaceful and legitimate demands of the Saudi citizens,” read part of the statement.

On Sunday, Saudi security forces opened fire on demonstrators in Qatif who were protesting against the detention of al-Nemr. At least three people were killed and many others injured in the attack.

Earlier in the day, al-Nemr was injured when regime forces fired at his car in Awamiyah. There has been no word on his condition or whereabouts.

Since February 2011, Saudi protesters have held numerous demonstrations in the Eastern Province, mainly in the Qatif region and the town of Awamiyah, calling for the release of all political prisoners, freedom of expression and assembly, and an end to widespread discrimination.

However, the demonstrations turned into protests against the regime of the House of Saud, especially after November 2011, when Saudi security forces killed five protesters and injured many others in the Eastern Province.

The Saudi Interior Ministry issued a statement on March 5, 2011, prohibiting “all forms of demonstrations, marches or protests, and calls for them, because that contradicts the principles of the Islamic sharia, the values and traditions of Saudi society, and results in disturbing public order and harming public and private interests.” …more