Saudis hold anti-regime demonstration in Buraidah

Saudis have staged another anti-regime demonstration in the city of Buraidah, calling for the immediate release of political prisoners.

The demonstrators once again defied a protest ban imposed by the Al Saud regime and took to the streets in the central city of Buraidah on Wednesday to demand the release of a group of women and other prisoners arrested during a recent rally.

On March 1, Saudi security forces arrested over 300 protesters, including 15 women, after hundreds of people gathered outside the investigation and prosecution bureau in Buraidah to demand the release of political prisoners.

The kingdom, hit by anti-regime protests, has intensified its campaign of terror and crackdown against dissidents.

Activists said Saudi regime forces arrested dozens of prominent figures, including two Shia clerics Sheikh Mohammad al-Atiyah and Sheikh Badr al-Taleb, during the two-day period of March 17 and 18.

Since February 2011, demonstrators have held anti-regime protest rallies on an almost regular basis in Saudi Arabia, mainly in the Qatif region and the town of Awamiyah in Eastern Province, primarily calling for the release of all political prisoners, freedom of expression and assembly, and an end to widespread discrimination.

However, the demonstrations have turned into protests against the repressive Al Saud regime, especially after November 2011, when Saudi security forces killed five protesters and injured many others in the province.

According to Human Rights Watch, the Saudi regime “routinely represses expression critical of the government.”