Alwaght - The Saudi
security forces told the prisoners' families in Eastern province that they have
information that ISIS is planning to kill the prisoners held in Al-Sharqiya
prison in an operation that may occur in the near future, and they assume that
they cannot do anything about it due to ISIS power.
Saudi Prisoners'
families from the Eastern province said the Saudi regime security officers have
claimed in a meeting with them that they do not have sufficient power to
prevent or stand against any such operation by the ISIS.
Asked why they do not
protect the Saudi prisons against ISIL’s threat, the security sources have
responded that "we want to, but we cannot because of ISIS’s power".
"The officers' tone
suggested very clearly that they intend to kill a large number of dissident prisoners
with the help of the ISIS," the families said.
One of the most famous
prisoners of the Al Saud is prominent Shiite Cleric Sheikh al-Nimr Baqer
al-Nimr who is facing execution amidst domestic and international opposition.
Nimr was attacked and
arrested in the Qatif region in July 2012. His arrest sparked widespread
protests in the kingdom, leaving several people dead.
There have been numerous
demonstrations in Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich Eastern Province since 2011, with the
protestors calling for political reform and an end to widespread
discrimination. Several people have been killed and many others have been
injured or arrested during the demonstrations.
On October 15, 2014,
Nimr was sentenced to death at the Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh. In
reaction to the sentence, people took to streets in the city of Qatif in
Eastern Province to condemn the move.
Nimr was given the death
sentence on charges of disturbing the kingdom's security and making
anti-government speeches.
He is the Imam of
al-Awamiyya Mosque in Qatif and has spent most of his two-year detention in
solitary confinement at the al-Ha’ir prison in Riyadh, according to Amnesty
International.
Protesters have staged
rallies worldwide to condemn the death sentence handed down to Sheikh Nimr, and
have voiced solidarity with the dissident Saudi religious scholar.
