UN chief 'deeply dismayed' by Saudi executions, calls for restraint
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Saturday he was "deeply dismayed" by the execution of a prominent Shi'ite Muslim cleric and 46 other people in Saudi Arabia and called for calm and restraint.
Saudi Arabia executed cleric Nimr al-Nimr and dozens of al Qaeda members on Saturday, signaling it would not tolerate attacks, whether by Sunni jihadists or minority Shi'ites. The executions stirred sectarian anger across the Middle East.
"Sheik al-Nimr and a number of the other prisoners executed had been convicted following trials that raised serious concerns over the nature of the charges and the fairness of the process," Ban's spokesman said in a statement.
