Petition · past parliament

Release a statement condemning Saudi Arabia's execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr

Closed 627 signatures

What the petition asks

On 2nd January 2016 Saudi Arabia announced that it had executed 47 people in one day, among them the prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. This petition calls upon David Cameron and the UK Government to officially condemn this act of religious and political persecution.
Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr was a vocal critic of the monarchies in both Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Popular amongst young Shi'ite Muslims, he called for religious freedoms for the Shia and encouraged democracy for which he was briefly detained in both 2004 and 2006. During the Arab Spring he encouraged peaceful protest against the Saudi authorities and condemned their crackdown on protest. He was shot and arrested in 2012. His detention was criticised by Amnesty International as a breech of free speech.

Timeline

7 Jan 2016 Petition opened for signatures
7 Jul 2016 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 627
Status Closed
Opened 7 Jan 2016
Closed 7 Jul 2016

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.