Saudi jails Qatif protesters for flag 'insult'

A security court in Saudi Arabia on Sunday sentenced five young protesters from the Eastern Province to prison sentences of between three and six years, convicting them of having insulted the Kingdom’s flag during protests at a school in the governorate of Qatif.

They were prosecuted for removing the country’s flag from a school and replacing it with one representing calls for a separate state in the oil-rich Eastern Province. An official source told the AFP that the defendants had removed an official plaque that said “The Royal Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” with one saying “The Kingdom of Qatif of Tomorrow”.

There have been sporadic protests in the mainly Shia Eastern Province for many years, but they have stepped up since the beginning of the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011 and often led to violent clashes with security forces. The Shia community, who make up 10 to 15 percent of the country’s 28 mn population, have long since complained of having their rights abused by the government.

Human Rights Watch say authorities “systematically discriminate against its Shia citizens”, citing poor access to public education and government employment alongside unequal treatment in the justice system. The government denies this and has banned protests in the oil-rich Qatif province that they say are violent and accused demonstrators of having a “foreign agenda” and threatening national security.

At least 24 people have died, including four police officers, in violent clashes and authorities are currently holding around 300 people in relation to the protest movement. They recently sentenced a number of detainees to death who were convicted on charges of sedition and attacking security forces, including the nephew of prominent Shia religious leader Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, who himself is facing the death penalty by crucifixion after being accused of inciting sectarian strife for his part in the Qatif protests.

Human rights activists lamented the regularity with which activists are being jailed, although they restated that protests are continuing despite a renewed crackdown on dissent.

“These kinds of sentences are becoming an everyday occurrence in Saudi Arabia, where the people of Qatif expect to be arrested and put in prison for peacefully exercising their right to resist oppression by the government,” said Ali Adubisy, head of the European-Saudi Society for Human Rights. “Since the death sentences have been passed down protests have increased and there have been numerous demonstrations in Qatif over the past month.”

“Every other day people are taking to the streets and demanding the release of political prisoners, with special focus on the most prominent leader Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr,” he added.

Trials of prisoners from the Qatif region continue at the Specialised Criminal Court in the port city of Jeddah, which was established in 2008 to try terrorism cases although various human rights groups criticise it for having prosecuted people in relation to their peaceful activism.