[caption id="attachment_121587" align="alignright" width="206"] A woman near Manama, Bahrain, holds up a portrait of Shia leader Nimr Baqir al-Nimr in solidarity. Photograph: Mohammed Al-Shaikh/AFP/Getty Images[/caption]
Nimr Baqir al-Nimr’s conviction for sedition adding to unrest and promoting sectarian hatred, says Human Rights Watch
Saudi Arabia is facing an international outcry and accusations of promoting sectarian hatred after a Shia Muslim religious leader from the country’s volatile eastern province was sentenced to death.

Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, who led protests in Qatif at the height of the Arab spring in 2011, was convicted on Wednesday of sedition and other charges in a case that has been followed closely by Shias in the kingdom and neighbouring Bahrain.

Shia Muslims make up 10%-15% of the population of Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia, which bills itself as playing a lead role in the fight against the jihadis of Islamic State (Isis) in Syria and Iraq. Riyadh has supported Sunni groups fighting to overthrow Bashar al-Assad but denies backing Isis.

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