About 500 protesters, mainly Shiite Muslims who make up a large part of the population of the region, demonstrated in the oil-rich eastern province. They called for the release of prisoners held without charges, according to Ibrahim al-Mugaiteeb, president of Human Rights First Society.
There was no gunfire or clashes with police in the area, Mr. al-Mugaiteeb said.
In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital, Friday prayers ended calmly, as none of the protests activists had called for materialized by mid-afternoon local-time.
Dozens of police cars waited quietly in the area where activists had called for the demonstrations after Muslim prayers. No protesters could be seen in the area.
Activists had used Facebook pages to call for demonstrations to demand political reforms. The calls for protests came as demonstrations have broken out across the Arab world, toppling entrenched regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, and leading to a bloody fight between pro-government and antigovernment forces in Libya.
Saudi Arabia's government has taken a harsh line on protests. Protests have been banned, and last week a small demonstration in the east of the country police arrested the demonstrations' organizers.
On Thursday, Saudi police fired rubber bullets to disperse about 200 Shiite protesters in Qatif, a town in the oil-rich Eastern Province, local human rights activists said
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