Top Saudi Shiite Cleric 'Sheikh al-Nemer' Severely Injured, Arrested by Saudi Forces + Pics, Video

Saudi Wahhabi forces have shot injured and arrested senior Shia cleric Ayatollah Al-Nemer on Saturday 08 July 2012 at around 5 pm local time in Qatif.

According to witnesses, gun firing were heard and the pursuit ended when Ayatollah Al-Nemer’s car severely crashed a wall nearby house after firing bullets on his car.

The cleric was reportedly wounded when regime forces fired at his car. 

Sources close to Ayatollah Al-Nemer indicated that the Ayatollah has been injured without conforming whether the injury was due to the gun firing or the car accident.

Shortly after the car accident, police members took Ayatollah Al-Nemer to an unknown place while his car was left on its spot.

Al-Nemer’s arrest was announced earlier by his brother and a Shiite advocacy group. “The police carried out an ambush in Al-Awamiya, intercepting my brother’s car and arresting him,” Mohammed Nemer said. “On learning the news, I went to the place and found the empty car,” he added.

Activists from the Shiite group Justice and Human Rights also confirmed the arrest of Nemer, considered one of the main advocates of human rights and equality in the mainly Shiite-populated eastern province.

Saudi Interior ministry spokesman Mansur Turki, cited by the official SPA news agency, said “one of the instigators of sedition, Nemer Baqr al-Nemer, was arrested in Al-Awamiya after being wounded while resisting the security forces.”

Released pictures showed severe damages to the car as a result of the pursuit leading to the accident. Also shown are the bullets on the car due to the firing.

Short video reportedly shows Shia cleric Nemer al-Nemer after being arrested in Qatif on 8 July 2012

https://yfrog.com/695qfz

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFcxA91hLRY

Thousands of anti-regime protesters have once again taken to the streets of Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province after regime security forces arrested a prominent Shia cleric. 

Last week, al-Nemr had warned that his possible detention would intensify the protests in the Eastern Province, the center of rallies for over a year now.

Meanwhile, Saudi forces on Saturday arrested activist Saleh al-Ashwan at his home in Riyadh, without a warrant. There has been no word on his current whereabouts.