The government of Saudi Arabia has executed prominent Shia cleric, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.
The Interior Ministry said he was among 47 people put to death after being convicted of terrorism offences.
The Sheikh was a vocal supporter of the mass anti-government protests that erupted in eastern province in 2011, where a Shia majority have long complained of marginalisation.
Out of the 47 people executed, one was a Chadian national while another was Egyptian. The rest are Saudis.
According to BCC, protests broke out in early 2011 in the oil-rich Eastern Province in the wake of the Arab Spring.
Sheikh Nimr’s arrest two years ago, during which he was shot, triggered days of unrest in which three people were killed.
Sheikh Nimr has been a persistent critic of Saudi Arabia’s Sunni royal family, but his supporters said that he supported only peaceful demonstrations and eschewed all violent opposition to the government.
