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Switzerland summons Saudi charge d’affaires over mass executions

Tuesday, 05 January 2016 2:27 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 05 January 2016 2:40 AM ]

A woman holds a placard bearing a portrait of prominent Shia Muslim cleric Nimr al-Nimr during a protest in Bahrain against his execution by Saudi authorities, January 2, 2016. (Reuters)

Switzerland has summoned Saudi Arabia’s charge d’affaires to express its dismay over Riyadh’s execution of 47 people, including prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.

In a statement released by the Foreign Ministry on Monday, Switzerland also highlighted its opposition to the death penalty, and called on all governments in the region to “lower tensions and avoid provocations.”

Defending judicial process

Meanwhile, at a Monday UN session, Saudi Arabia defended the executions, claiming that all of those killed had been granted “fair and just trials without any consideration to their intellectual, racial, or sectarian affiliation."

Riyadh’s UN mission also expressed “deep regret” that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had voiced worries over the fairness of the trails and the process of charges of those who had been put to death on Saturday.

The executions, especially that of Nimr’s, has sparked condemnation from governments and human rights groups from all over the world.

After Saudi Arabia announced the executions, demonstrations were held in front of the Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate in the northeastern city of Mashhad by angry protesters censuring the Al Saud family for the execution of Nimr. Some people scaled the walls of the consulate in Mashhad while incendiary devices were hurled at the embassy in Tehran. Scores of people were detained over the transgression.

Following the incident, Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Iran.

Also on Monday, Iran's Ambassador to the UN Gholam Ali Khoshrou wrote a letter to Ban stating that in accordance with its international commitments, Tehran would do everything in its power to bring those responsible for the transgression to justice.

He also stressed that following the incident, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani gave the required orders to the relative organizations for speeding up efforts to prosecute and try those involved.

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