2016 Saudi Arabia mass execution
Wikimedia list article
On January 2, 2016, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia carried out a mass execution of 47 imprisoned civilians convicted of terrorism in 12 provinces in the country. Forty-three were beheaded and four were executed by firing squads. Among the 47 people killed was Shia Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. This was the largest mass execution carried out in the kingdom since 1980. Nimr al-Nimr was sentenced to death by the Specialized Criminal Court on 15 October 2014 for "seeking 'foreign meddling' in Saudi Arabia, 'disobeying' its rulers and taking up arms against the security forces". His execution was condemned by religious and political figures and human rights groups. The Saudi government said the body would not be handed over to the family. Al-Nimr was very critical of the Saudi government, and had called for free elections in Saudi Arabia.
Response
The mass execution sparked mass protests across the Middle East, during which protesters in Tehran and Mashhad burned part of the Saudi diplomatic missions, and the Saudi embassy in the Iraqi capital Baghdad was attacked by protesters and a rocket. The embassies were empty during the attacks.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “2016 Saudi Arabia mass execution” is wikimedia list article. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Saudi, Arabia and mass, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “wikimedia list article” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q21953117. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2016, 1980 and 2014.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “2016 Saudi Arabia mass execution”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow 2016 Saudi Arabia mass execution primary sources, 2016 Saudi Arabia mass execution archive and Saudi research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “2016 Saudi Arabia mass execution”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “2016 Saudi Arabia mass execution” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.