Saudi Arabia Must Allow Peaceful Protests: Amnesty International
08 March, 2011 10:03
Amnesty International Urges Saudi Arabia to Allow Peaceful Protests, After Government Bans Right to Legitimate Demonstrations and Detains 24 People. Organization Also Calls for Investigation Into Reports Police Beat and Kicked Protesters in city of al-Qatif.
Amnesty International yesterday called on the Saudi Arabian government to allow peaceful protests, saying a ban on all demonstrations in the kingdom was “outrageous.†The organization also called for an investigation into the detention last week of about 24 Shia people after peaceful protests and assaults by police on others.
On Saturday, the Ministry of Interior said security forces would take “all necessary steps against those who attempt to disrupt order.†Authorities confirmed the ban on protests, which was first referred to in 2008.
Further protests are planned for Friday amid growing calls for reform in the country .
“The Saudi Arabian authorities have a duty to ensure freedom of assembly and are obliged under international law to allow peaceful protests to take place,†said Philip Luther, deputy director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Program.
“They must act immediately to end this outrageous restriction on the right to legitimate protest.â€
Some 24  innocent Shia people were detained last Thursday and Friday following protests in the city of al-Qatif, denouncing the prolonged detention of Shi’a prisoners. Police in al-Qatif kicked and beat with batons at least three of the protesters, who were taking part in an apparently peaceful demonstration supporting nine Shi’a community members who have been detained without trial for over 14 years.
The arrests came a week after prominent Shi’a cleric Sheikh Tawfiq Jaber Ibrahim al-’Amr was arrested following a sermon calling for reforms in Saudi Arabia. He was released without charge on Sunday.
“The Saudi authorities must investigate reports of beatings of protesters by security forces. They should also ensure that those detained are either charged with recognizable offenses and tried fairly or released,†said Luther.
“While in detention they must be protected from torture and other ill-treatment, and given regular access to their family, lawyers and medical,†he said.
Most of the protesters are believed to be held in a police station in al-Dhahran, a city in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.
Among those arrested are Shi’a activists Hussain al-Yusef and Hussein al-‘Alq, who have written for the Shi’a website, which often details arrests of and discrimination against members of the Shi’a community.
Calls for reform, including for a constitutional monarchy and greater political freedoms, and for the release of people detained without charge or trial in Saudi Arabia have grown louder in recent weeks amid protests spreading across the Middle East and North Africa.
Must Read
Pakistan
Americans Should Think About How A Madman Is Their President: Hafiz Naeem-Ur-Rehman
6-April،2026
Related News
9:28 AM
April 6, 2026
BREAKING NEWS