Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks on Sunday, while calling on the international community to feel responsible toward this crime and other similar crimes committed by Saudi regime in Yemen and Bahrain.
“This innocent cleric had not provoked people into an armed movement nor had he attempted to covertly plot against the Saudi government; the only thing he had done was open and public criticism and promoting virtue and preventing vice according to his religious zeal,” the Leader said about the Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, who was executed by Saudi Arabia on Saturday along with 46 others in a single day.
Ayatollah Khamenei deemed the martyrdom of Sheikh Nimr and the unjust shedding of his blood a ‘political mistake’ of Saudi government, adding “God Almighty does not forgive the shedding of innocent blood, and the blood will soon exact its vengeance on Saudi authorities and politicians.”
The Leader strongly criticized contenders of liberty, democracy and human rights for their silence and support for Saudi regime that takes innocent lives for the mere reason of having voiced their protest and objection, stressing that the whole world must feel responsible toward this matter.
He further referred to other atrocities committed by the Saudi regime including the harassment of Bahraini people by Saudi military and the destruction of their mosques and homes as well as the bombardment of Yemeni people for over ten months, adding “those who sincerely feel responsible toward the future of humanity, human rights and justice must pursue these matters and not be indifferent to this situation.”
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