Saudi Protest met with intensified abuse of Women

In Saudi Town, Women Protest Detentions, Leading to Their Own
By CHRISTINE HAUSER – NYT Lede – 10 January, 2013

Last weekend, Saudi security forces encircled and arrested a small group of women who were protesting the long-term detention of relatives without charges on suspicion of terrorism, and the event has touched off nearly a week of unrest in the Saudi town of Buraida.

A video, apparently shot from a rooftop, showed the security forces joining hands to surround the women, who were holding up placards in the street, as reinforcements showed up.

Amnesty International reported in a statement that security forces arrested some 18 women and 10 children who had gathered outside Buraida’s Board of Grievances building to protest the continued detention of relatives in connection with the Saudi Arabian authorities’ counterterrorism efforts.

It said about seven women were released early the next morning after they signed and added their thumbprints to pledges not to protest again. Three of the women were believed to be at Buraida’s General Prison while eight more – all under the age of 30 – were transferred to the Social Welfare Home in the capital, Riyadh, Amnesty said.

Authorities in Saudi Arabia crack down on public demonstrations, and it is difficult to get a full picture of events inside the kingdom through the official or private media. But reports on social media and images uploaded on Twitter and YouTube filter out, helping to construct an idea of some of the political or human rights-motivated grievances there. …more