Authorities release Shiite cleric activist
Saudi Arabia has released a Shiite cleric who was arrested on 27 February after he called for a constitutional monarchy in the kingdom to replace the absolute monarchy. Sheikh Tawfiq al-Aamer was freed on Sunday night.
Issued on:
On Friday, several hundred Shiites protested in Eastern Province calling for his release and those of other detainees.
A day earlier, 22 people were arrested as police broke up a rally in Al-Qatif in which protestors called for the release of prisoners.
The country's top clerics have condemned what they describe as "un-Islamic" calls for demonstrations and petitions demanding reform in the desert kingdom.
A statement from the ten-strong Council of Senior Scholars on Sunday stressed that 'demonstrations are prohibited in this country and that the Islamic way of realising common interest is by offering advice".
The Council called on the authorities to do their job 'in line with the law of the land' in what appeared to be religious permission to crack down on public protests.
Saudi Arabia's eastern province borders Bahrain, a Shiite majority kingdom ruled by a Sunni dynasty that has been shaken by anit-government protests since 14 February.
Activists have called on Facebook for a 'Day of Rage' on 11 March and a 'Saudi revolution' on 20 March.
Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning
Subscribe