Saudi Arabia Executes 47, Including Prominent Shiite Cleric
- Kingdom faced wave of attacks since joining anti-IS coalition
- Backlash starts with attack on Saudi embassy in Tehran
Yemeni protesters take part in a demonstration outside the Saudi embassy in Sanaa against the death sentence on Nimr al-Nimr in 2014.
Photographer: Mohammed Huwais/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Saudi Arabia executed 47 men convicted of terror-related offenses and political activism, including a prominent cleric critical of the kingdom’s rulers, sparking a violent backlash that included late-night attacks on the Saudi embassy in Tehran.
Protestors stormed the embassy late Saturday before being forced out by Iranian police, Saudi Al-Ekhbariya state television said. Crowds hurled Molotov cocktails at the building, according to Agence France-Presse, citing the ISNA news agency. Unverified images on social media also appeared to show protesters ransacking offices and smashing windows.