“The human rights condition in Saudi Arabia is critical and Al Saud’s policy of suppressing and jailing the opponents has exacerbated the human rights crisis in Riyadh,” said Seyyed Sharif Hosseini, a member of Iran’s Majlis (parliament) Presiding Board, in a Friday interview with ICANA.
The lawmaker praised the Saudi nation for the courage to express their demands, noting, “The public protests which started in the city of Qatif and have spread to Riyadh are indicative of the formation of Islamic Awakening in Saudi Arabia”.
Hosseini lashed out at the Western advocates of human rights for siding with Riyadh by keeping silent over Al Saud’s suppressive measures and supporting the arrests of political activists at some junctures.
“Instead of providing financial support for the Syrian terrorists and developing scenarios for sowing discord in the region, the Al Saud dynasty should use those enormous sums for improving the country’s economy and fulfilling the public demands,” the Iranian legislator pointed out.
Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich Eastern Province has been rocked by anti-regime protests since February 2011.
Saudi protesters have held demonstrations on an almost regular basis mainly in the Qatif region and the town of Awamiyah in Eastern Province. Their primary demands are the release of all political prisoners, social justice and an end to systematic discrimination.
However, the demonstrations have turned into protests against the repressive Al Saud regime, especially since November 2011, when Saudi security forces killed five protesters and injured many others in the province.
According to Human Rights Watch, the Saudi regime “routinely represses expression critical of the government.”
