Three moderate Saudi Sunni scholars held on multiple charges of “terrorism” are to be sentenced to death and executed shortly after Ramadan, Middle East Eye reports.
The most prominent is Sheikh Salman Al Odah, an internationally renowned scholar known for his progressive views in the Islamic world on Shariah and homosexuality.
He was arrested in September 2017 shortly after tweeting a prayer for reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, three months after the blockade on the latter was imposed. The other two slated for execution are Awad Al Qarni, a Sunni preacher, academic and author, and Ali Al Omari, a popular broadcaster. They were also arrested in September 2017.
All three had massive followings online. Odah’s Arabic Twitter account boasts 13.4 million followers alone, and the hashtag #freesalmanalodah emerged after his arrest. Omari’s TV station “For Youth” also had a huge audience, adds the report.
The three are currently awaiting trial at the Criminal Special Court in Riyadh. A hearing was set for May 1, but was postponed without setting a further date. It is believed the executions of 37 Saudis in April this year on terrorism changes was in order to gauge international reaction. As global reactions were muted, Saudi Arabia feels it could go ahead with executions of more prominent persons.
“When they found out there was very little international reaction, particularly at the level of governments and heads of state, they decided to proceed with their plan to execute figures who were prominent,” a source told the MEE.
Ongoing tensions in the Gulf region vis-a-vis Iran have led the US to close ranks with Saudi Arabia, and it now may turn a blind eye to the expected executions of the three scholars.
However, the detention of the three scholars had provoked the condemnation of the United Nations and the US State Department, as well as Human Rights Watch, Reprieve and Amnesty International. A member of one of the scholars’ families told the Middle East Eye that the executions if they went ahead, would be very serious, and could present a dangerous tipping point.