Saudis hold fresh ant-regime demo in Qatif

People have taken to streets in eastern Saudi Arabia to protest against the detention of protesters. The anti-regime demonstration was staged in the town of Qatif in Eastern Province on Wednesday. The demonstrators chanted slogans against the kingdom’s ruling monarch and denounced the suppression of the protests in the oil-rich Eastern Province. “We will never tolerate humiliation,” the protesters chanted. There have been numerous demonstrations in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province since February 2011, with protestors calling for political reform. Anti-government protests have intensified since November 2011, when security forces opened fire on protestors in Qatif, killing five people and leaving scores more injured. Activists say there are over 30,000 political prisoners in Saudi Arabia. In October 2012, Amnesty International called on the Saudi authorities to stop using excessive force against pro-democracy protestors. “The Saudi authorities must end their repeated moves to stifle people’s attempts to protest against the widespread use of arbitrary detention in the country,” Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s director for the Middle East and North Africa, said on October 16. “The right of people to peaceful protest must be respected and the security forces must refrain from detaining or using excessive force against people who exercise it,” he added.