Saudis hold fresh anti-regime protests despite heavy crackdown

A fresh anti-regime protest was staged in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern province, despite the ongoing clampdown on rallies.
Demonstrators in the Qatif region on Friday slammed the regime’s suppression of the Shiite population, presstv reported.
Protesters also expressed solidarity with jailed clerics including prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.
Sheikh Nimr was attacked, injured and arrested by Saudi security forces en route to his house in the Qatif region of Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province on July 8, 2012.
He was arrested over calls for the release of political prisoners.
Tensions escalated in Qatif and Ihsaa following the arrest of Nimr. Thousands of people protested, calling for the overthrow of the regime and the release of the Sheikh.
In late March 2013, an unnamed Saudi prosecutor reportedly demanded death penalty for Nimr. The authority accused Nimr of ‘aiding terrorists’ and ‘instigating unrest,’ and called for the execution of the Shiite cleric.
Since February 2011, demonstrators have held anti-regime protests on an almost regular basis in Saudi Arabia, mainly in Qatif 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.
Since November 2011, when Saudi security forces killed five protesters and injured many others in Eastern Province, the demonstrations have turned into protests against the Al Saud regime.
According to Human Rights Watch, the Riyadh regime "routinely represses expression critical of the government".