People's aggregation in the center of Riyadh at the invitation of the opposition
Saudi Arabia, Politics, 10/15/2003

Hundreds of Saudi Arabian citizens gathered yesterday afternoon near the trade center in al-Elleya street in the downtown of the capital, Riyadh, at the invitation of the opposition Islamic movement for reforms in protest of detentions, the movement says. This was, however, a unique sort of political drive in Saudi Arabia.

Witnesses said that the police opened machine gun fire in the air and detained more than 50 persons of the gathered people, most of them were young after chasing them. The police used sticks to disperse the demonstrators who were chanting "Allah Akbar (God is great)." Intensive security forces were deployed at the site of the aggregation at the trade center ( the Kingdom) where a human rights conference is being held. Witnesses there said that there were also barriers on the road to prevent protesters from reaching the site of the aggregation.

The Saudi minister of the interior Prince Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz described the demonstration called upon by the reforms movement by saying "it is not worthy to talk about it, any way. It is a valueless barking. I think that only the ignorant responds to it."

Lawyer and journalist Abdul Rahman al-Lahem told the press that the demonstration was an attempt to prove self- existence in the area in being the first attempt. He called for paving the way for self expression and to block the way for what he called the terrorist groups abroad.

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  Campaign of pressure and threats target Saudi reformers   (10/11/2003)
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  Saudi reformer joins Saad al-Faqih movement in London   (9/26/2003)
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