Hawzah news agency - In a statement, they called on the Saudi King to pardon the senior cleric and other opponents sentenced to death, the Qatif website reported. Sheikh Nazir al-Zaher, Sheikh Ali al-Zayed, Sheikh Farid al-Shuyukh, Sayyed Yusuf al-Abbas, and Sheikh Naji al-Ibadi were among those who signed the statement. Ayatollah Nimr, who has been in detention since July 2012, has been sentenced to death by a Saudi court. Saudi Arabia’s Court of Appeals and Supreme Court have approved the verdict handed to the senior Shia cleric. According to some media outlets, the verdict has been referred to the interior ministry and then the king’s office for the final go-ahead.

Nimr’s lawyer, Sadeq al-Jubran, says Nimr could be executed as soon as the Saudi monarch approves his sentence. On Thursday, people in several towns and cities in the Qatif region held rallies in protest to the death sentence for Sheikh Nimr and called for the release of the Shiite cleric and other political prisoners.