Saudi police arrest prominent Shi'ite Muslim cleric http://news.yahoo.com/saudi-police-arrest-prominent-shiite-muslim-cleric-201908424.htmlJEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - A prominent Shi'ite Muslim cleric was arrested in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province late on Sunday after being shot in the leg by police in an exchange of fire, the Interior Ministry said.
Reports that Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr had been arrested prompted demonstrations in the mostly Shi'ite Qatif region of the Eastern Province, which has been the focal point of protests alleging discrimination, and where the cleric was seen as a leading radical.
"When the aforementioned person and those with him tried to resist the security men and initiated shooting and crashed into one of the security patrols while trying to escape, he was dealt with in accordance with the situation and responded to in kind and arrested after he was wounded in his thigh," the state news agency reported, citing an Interior Ministry spokesman.
The spokesman said Nimr had been taken to hospital. He was accused of sedition.
Tawfiq al-Seif, a Shi'ite community leader, said reports of the arrest had sparked protests in the village of Awamiya, which is located in the Qatif district.
Activists from the Eastern Province, where most of Saudi Arabia's Shi'ites live, posted pictures on the Internet of a grey-bearded man they identified as Nimr inside a vehicle. He was covered with what appeared to be a blood-stained white blanket...
http://news.yahoo.com/saudi-police-arrest-prominent-shiite-muslim-cleric-201908424.html
