Saudi Arabia has reportedly dispatched more troops and military equipment to its Eastern Province in a bid to quell anti-government protests.
According to Press TV, activists said on Monday that dozens of military vehicles, including tanks, have left an army base in the center of the country for oil-rich Eastern Province as anti-regime protests in the region show no sign of petering out despite a heavy government crackdown.
The move came nearly one week after Riyadh sent over 40 military vehicles to the region to help local police suppress anti-government protesters.
While protests and political gatherings of any kind are prohibited in the absolute monarchy, hundreds of Saudis have staged protest rallies in Qatif and Awamiyah and some other towns in Eastern Province over the past weeks, demanding political reforms, the release of political prisoners, the freedom of expression and respect for human rights.
They have also called for the withdrawal of their country’s troops from neighboring Bahrain, where Saudi-backed Bahraini forces have launched a deadly crackdown on peaceful anti-regime protesters.
Saudi activists say there are more than 30,000 political prisoners, mostly prisoners of conscious, in jails across the country.
According to activists, most of the detained political thinkers are being held by the government without trial or legitimate charges and that they were arrested for merely being suspicious.
english.irib.ir, 10 October 2011
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