AhlulBayt News Agency

source : PressTV
Thursday

14 April 2011

7:30:00 PM
236704

Saudis protest Bahrain invasion, arrests

Hundreds of people in Saudi Arabia have protested against the Saudi occupation of Bahrain and demanded the release of all political prisoners held in Saudi custody without trial.

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The protesters, who gathered in the eastern city of Qatif on Thursday, also called for an end to human rights violations in the country.

The demonstrators also chanted slogans in support of Bahraini people, calling for an immediate withdrawal of Saudi troops from the country.

Saudi military forces invaded Bahrain in mid-March to help suppress anti-government protests in the country.

Around 50 women in Awwamiya, a village near Qatif, also chanted slogans for the release of prisoners and for an end to female discrimination in the monarchy.

Saudi Arabia, a key US ally in the Middle East, is an absolute monarchy that does not tolerate any form of dissent.

Protest rallies and any public displays of dissent are considered illegal. Senior Wahhabi clerics in the kingdom have also censured opposition demonstrations as "un-Islamic."

Last month, a Saudi-based human rights group said that authorities have arrested 100 protesters for taking part in or organizing anti-government demonstrations.

Human Rights First Society also revealed that some of the detainees were subject to torture both physically and mentally.

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