Saudi Security Forces Thwart Planned Protests

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi security forces thwarted planned protest marches in the kingdom's two main cities on Thursday, deploying in force in the capital Riyadh and arresting at least a dozen people in the Red Sea port of Jeddah.



The demonstrations had been called by exiled dissident Saad al-Fagih who is campaigning to overthrow the absolute monarchy. He said tens of thousands of people would take to the streets for the protests, which are illegal in Saudi Arabia.


Two men were arrested in Jeddah after firing shots into the air outside a mosque where Fagih had told protesters to gather after midday prayers. At least one other person was detained but the remaining 30 worshippers, outnumbered by police, left the mosque peacefully.


"Two people fired their handguns in the air near a police patrol vehicle. They were arrested straight away but there was no exchange of fire and no one was hurt," Interior Ministry security spokesman Mansour Turki said.


Elsewhere in Jeddah witnesses said police arrested around 10 people who fled after their small gathering was dispersed.


In Riyadh, riot police with helmets, batons and shields lined the upmarket Olaya Street and King Fahd Road and helicopters hovered overhead for much of the day.


Special forces wearing balaclavas and bullet-proof vests surveyed the area. At least one had a gas mask. Vehicles with water cannons stood by, but no protesters emerged.


"This is an Islamic country which does not permit protests. There is no need for it," said a middle-aged Saudi man outside a Riyadh mosque.


"Everything is provided for these people. They are just outlaws with strange ideology. We do not agree with them."


Police last year broke up protests in Riyadh organized by the London-based Fagih, who heads the Movement of Islamic Reform in Arabia. He said this week that Thursday's planned protests aimed to overthrow the Saudi royal family. On the eve of the planned marches, 35 religious scholars issued a statement condemning Fagih and warning Saudis against supporting him.


"It is our duty and responsibility to advise you, because of our concern for the stability and security of the country ... to reject this act, and we warn against participating in it," said the statement, signed by prominent religious figures including leading Sunni preacher Salman al-Awdah.


Saudi officials accuse Fagih of exploiting social and economic discontent to further a radical Islamist cause, hiding his agenda behind calls for rights and greater accountability.


Fagih says he wants an elected leadership to replace the royal family, as well as an independent judiciary and a new constitution with "the stamp of Islamic law."


His attacks on royal excesses, broadcast into Saudi Arabia from Britain by radio, satellite TV and Internet, meet with some sympathy among ordinary Saudis. (Additional reporting by Khalid al-Fadli in Jeddah)

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