Arrested Saudi Princes Charged after Protesting Royal Benefit Cuts

The princes were detained after gathering outside a palace in Riyadh on Thursday to demonstrate against a government decision to stop paying the water and electricity bills of royals, The New Arab reported.

They also demanded compensation for a death sentence issued against one of their cousins, convicted of murder and executed in 2016, attorney general Saud al-Mojeb said.

“A group of 11 princes staged a sit in at the historic Qasr Al-Hokm palace on Thursday… objecting a recent royal order that halted payments by the state to members of the royal family to cover their electricity and water utility bills,” Mojeb added in a statement issued by the information ministry.

“Despite being informed that their demands are not lawful, the 11 princes refused to leave the area, disrupting public peace and order,” Mojeb underlined.

The 11 have been charged on “a number of counts” and are being held at the maximum security Al-Hayer prison, South of Riyadh, according to the statement.

However, a well-known Saudi online activist, who goes by the nickname of @mujtahidd on Twitter, announced at the time of the arrests that the princes had been nabbed for protesting the apprehension of many of their kinsmen on the crown prince’s orders late last year.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman started arresting hundreds of fellow princes and businessmen late last year in what has been portrayed as an “anti-corruption campaign”. Most of those detained were held at the palatial Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh, which has turned into a luxury prison. The royals have been asked to fork out hefty ransoms reaching billions of dollars in some cases as some have since reached settlements with the government.

The kingdom has also doubled gasoline prices and introduced a five-percent VAT on most goods and services to take care of its budget deficit.