On 21 March 2017, Nader Almatrook delivered an oral intervention at the 34th session of the Human Rights Council under Item 9 on behalf of Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain. In his intervention, Almatrook brought the Council’s attention to religious discrimination in Saudi Arabia, particularly against the country’s Shia Muslim minority population[…]
On 2 January 2016, Saudi Arabia executed Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, a prominent Shia cleric and outspoken peaceful social justice activist. Sheikh al-Nimr was an influential cleric in the Eastern Province town of Awamiyah, where he advocated for political freedom, human rights, and an end to oppression for all Saudis. He rose to prominence in[…]
As the largest country economically and the most populous state in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Saudi Arabia’s policies significantly affect the policies of its neighbors. Since the 2011 Arab Spring popular protests around the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Saudi Arabia has used its influence to lead the counterrevolutionary charge, and worked assiduously[…]
The Government of Saudi Arabia targets and prosecutes political and religious activists who speak out against the government. Among those it targets are dissident clerics from the kingdom’s restive Eastern Province Shia minority like Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr. Sheikh Nimr was a forceful critic of the government. Due to his speeches, Saudi security forces harassed[…]