Saudi Arabia sentences 14 to death over unrest in Shiite town

1 June 2016, 4:50 pm

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A Saudi court has sentenced to death 14 people convicted of taking part in deadly unrest in a Shiite-populated region of the predominantly Sunni kingdom, a local daily reports.

Al-Riyadh says the 14 were among 24 “accused of killing security personnel and robbing passersby in Awamiya,” a Shiite town in the Eastern Province.

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One of the defendants was acquitted and the other nine were jailed for between three and 15 years, Al-Riyadh said on its website, without giving further details.

Awamiya, a town of about 30,000, has been the scene of repeated incidents since 2011 when protests began among Shiites and later developed into a call for equality in the kingdom.

— AFP