Saudi authorities have arrested 11 princes for staging a protest in the capital, Riyadh, against the kingdom's austerity measures, according to state media.

The announcement by SPA news agency late on Saturday came hours after Sabq, a Saudi website, said that the 11 princes were detained after gathering at al-Hakem palace to demonstrate against a government decision to make the country's royalty pay their utility bills.

Upon arrest, they were sent to a notorious maximum-security facility south of Riyadh in contrast to dozens of other high-profile figures who were detained in a luxury hotel last year during an anti-corruption drive.

"They were arrested after they refused to leave the palace and were put in al-Ha'ir prison in preparation for their trial," the statement said.

The princes are expected to go on trial.

"The 11 individuals officially were arrested because they were complaining about the fact that they had asked for subsidies for water and electricity, and for some reason they were denied," said analyst Joseph Kechichian.

"Other reports say that in fact they were cousins of a prince who was executed in October 2016 and that they had come to ask for retribution," he added. "It's very conflicting at this point, we don't know exactly what is going on."

Economic diversification

Saudi Arabia recently introduced a raft of economic reforms, including a value-added tax (VAT) and a halt to state payments of water and electricity bills for royal family members.

On Saturday, King Salman decreed a series of financial payouts to ease the cost of living. Each government employee will receive a monthly bonus of 1,000 riyals ($267) for the next year, while military personnel serving in Yemen will be paid a one-off fee of 5,000 riyals ($1,330).

Students will have their allowances increased by 10 percent for the next year, while retirees and social security recipients will get a monthly stipend of 500 riyals ($133).

The unemployment rate in Saudi Arabia surpassed 12 percent last year as the economy grappled with the fallout from low oil prices.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been spearheading attempts to diversify the country's oil-dependent economy.

The VAT, implemented as of January 1, applies to a wide range of commodities, including food, clothes, entertainment, electronics, and telephone, water and electricity bills.

Its imposition is part of a region-wide measure agreed upon by the six Gulf Cooperation Council member states in Riyadh in 2016. The International Monetary Fund has estimated it will raise additional revenues of 1.5 to three percent of non-oil gross domestic product, depending on the country.

According to Saturday's decree, the Saudi government will absorb the cost of the tax for citizens purchasing private healthcare and education, and for first-time homebuyers of properties valued at up to 850,000 riyals ($226,660).</s>Saudi Arabia’s air force intercepted on Friday a ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Iran-allied rebels towards the southern region of Najran, Saudi-owned broadcaster Al Arabiya reported.

The pro-government broadcaster reported no casualties or damage by the missile.

Najran, on the border with Yemen, has previously seen several attacks by the Yemeni Houthi rebels, who are the target of a Saudi-led air campaign.

The Houthi-affiliated al-Masirah television reported that Friday’s missile had targeted a Saudi army camp in Najran.

The missile was the fourth to be fired by Yemeni rebels into Saudi Arabia in three months.

In December, Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis towards the royal palace in the capital Riyadh.

In November, two ballistic missiles fired from Yemen were intercepted.

The first landed near King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh while the other targeted the south-western Saudi province of Assir.

Yemen, one of the Arab world’s poorest countries, has been embroiled in a devastating power struggle between the Saudi-backed government and the Houthis since late 2014.

The conflict has intensified since March 2015, when the Houthis advanced on the government’s temporary capital of Aden, prompting Saudi Arabia and Sunni allies to start an air campaign against the Shiite group.

Saudi Arabia fears that the rebels will give its regional rival, Shiite Iran, a strategic foothold on the Arabian Peninsula.</s>RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Friday intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Yemen into the kingdom’s south, as Riyadh and its allies said the attack “proved” Iran’s support for Yemen’s Huthi rebels.

The Riyadh-led military coalition fighting the rebels in Yemen in a statement said Saudi air defences intercepted the missile at around 0500 GMT, but reported no casualties.

The Huthis, who are locked in war with Yemen’s Saudi-backed government, earlier said they had fired a missile at Saudi Arabia’s southwestern province of Najran in a statement tweeted by their Al-Masirah television channel.

On Friday, coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said the foiled missile attack served as further proof that Iran armed the rebels.

“This hostile act by the Iran-backed Huthis proves the Iranian regime remains implicated in supporting the armed Huthis,” Maliki was quoted by Saudi state news agency SPA as saying.

Maliki said the attack “deliberately targeted densely populated civilian areas” and had caused minor damage to the property of a Saudi citizen.

The United States, a longtime ally of Saudi Arabia, has said Iran manufactured a missile fired by the Huthis towards Riyadh’s international airport in November.

In December, US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley presented what she called “undeniable” evidence that the missile was Iranian-made. Tehran rejected the evidence as “fabricated”.

A confidential report to the UN Security Council the same month said UN officials had examined debris from missiles fired at Saudi Arabia that pointed to a “common origin” but could not conclude whether they came from an Iranian supplier.

The Huthis have increased their rocket attacks on the kingdom since November.

The Saudi-led coalition joined the Yemeni government in its fight against the Huthis in March 2015, after the rebels seized control of the capital Sanaa.

Despite the coalition’s superior firepower, the rebels still control the capital and much of the north of the country.

More than 8,750 people have been killed since the coalition’s intervention in Yemen, according to the World Health Organization.

The country is also now facing what the United Nations has described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.—AFP</s>Riyadh: Saudi Arabia's attorney general on Sunday confirmed 11 princes had been arrested after protesting the kingdom's austerity measures and would face trial after "disrupting public peace and order".

Saudi media on Saturday had reported the princes arrested after gathering outside Qasr al-Hokm, a historical palace in Riyadh, in protest against a government decision to stop paying the water and electricity bills of royals.

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

"Despite being informed that their demands are not lawful, the 11 princes refused to leave the area, disrupting public peace and order," Mojeb said in a statement issued by the information ministry.

"Following their arrest, they have been charged on a number of counts in relation to these offences".

The 11 are being held at the maximum security Al-Hayer prison, south of Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia has introduced a string of austerity measures over the past two years to boost revenues and cut spending as the global slump in oil prices led to ballooning budget deficits.

The kingdom's push to diversify its oil-dependent economy has been linked to the arrest of more than 200 princes in November in an anti-corruption purge spearheaded by powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the king's son and heir to the throne.

Most of those detained were held at the palatial Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh, which has turned into a luxury prison.</s>Protest reportedly against a gov't decision to stop paying the water and electricity bills of royals

Saudi authorities have arrested 11 princes who protested against the kingdom's austerity measures and who could face trial, a news website close to the government reported on Saturday.

Sabq said the princes, who were not named, were protesting at a historical Riyadh royal palace, Qasr al-Hokm, against a government's decision to stop paying the water and electricity bills of royals.

They were also demanding "financial compensation" after one of their cousins had been sentenced for an unspecified crime.

The princes were transferred to the high-security Ha'ir prison in the capital "ahead of their trial", Sabq said, citing unnamed sources.

It said the princes "were informed of the error of their demands but they refused to leave Qasr al-Hokm", prompting the royal guards to intervene and arrest them.

Saudi officials contacted by AFP Saturday were not immediately reachable for comment.

Saudi Arabia has introduced a string of austerity measures over the past two years to boost revenues and cut spending as the global slump in oil prices led to ballooning budget deficits.

The kingdom's push to diversify its oil-dependent economy has been linked to the arrest of more than 200 princes in November in an anti-corruption purge spearheaded by powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the king's son and heir to the throne.

Most of those detained were held at the palatial Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh, which has turned into a luxury prison.

King Salman on Saturday announced a boost in stipends and tax relief for Saudi citizens, particularly those employed in the military or public sector.

The International Labour Organization estimates that unemployment among Saudis aged 15 to 25 stood at 36.2 percent last year.</s>iStock/Thinkstock(RIYADH) — Eleven Saudi princes were arrested by authorities after they held a protest over utility bills, according to Saudi media.

The princes on Thursday allegedly refused to leave the royal palace in Riyadh after they were angered by the government’s decision to stop paying their electric and water bills, the Saudi attorney general, Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb, said in a statement according to reports.

The attorney general did not name the princes nor their charges, but said the princes were moved to the al-Hair high security prison pending trial, Saudi media reported.

In November, at least 11 princes from the Saudi royal family, several government ministers, and a few wealthy businessmen, were detained by the Saudi government as part of an anti-corruption purge. Saudi observers believed the political crackdown was an attempt by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to remove critics and consolidate power.</s>Riyadh: Saudi authorities have detained 11 princes after they gathered at a royal palace in Riyadh in a rare protest against austerity measures that included suspending payment of their utility bills, Saudi media reported on Saturday.

Saudi officials did not respond immediately to a request for a comment on the report.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, has introduced reforms that included cutting subsidies, introducing value added tax (VAT) and cutting perks to royal family members to try to cope with a drop in crude prices that has caused a budget deficit estimated at 195 billion riyals in 2018.

Online news website sabq.org said the princes had gathered at the Qasr a-Hokm, a historic royal palace, demanding the cancellation of a royal decree that stopped state payment of water and electricity bills for royal family members.

They were also demanding compensation for a death sentence issued against a relative, sabq.org said.

"They were informed of the error of their demands, but they refused to leave Qasr al-Hokm," Sabq said, quoting unidentified sources. "A royal order was issued to the royal guards ... to intervene and they were detained and put into al-Hayer prison in preparation to put them on trial."

It gave no details on the identity of the princes but said the leader of the group had been identified by the initials S.A.S.

"Everybody is equal before the law and anyone who does not implement regulations and instructions will be held accountable, no matter who he is," the website added.

Arabic-language Okaz daily carried a similar report. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

Saudi Arabia last year rounded up dozens of royal family members, current and former senior officials in a crackdown on corruption that has also strengthened the power of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

They were held at the five-star Ritz Hotel in the capital Riyadh while government officials negotiated financial settlements.</s>Saudi Arabia’s attorney general on Sunday confirmed 11 princes had been arrested after protesting the kingdom’s austerity measures and would face trial after “disrupting public peace and order“.

Saudi media on Saturday had reported the princes arrested after gathering outside Qasr al-Hokm, a historical palace in Riyadh, in protest against a government decision to stop paying the water and electricity bills of royals.

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

“Despite being informed that their demands are not lawful, the 11 princes refused to leave the area, disrupting public peace and order,” Mojeb said in a statement issued by the information ministry.

“Following their arrest, they have been charged on a number of counts in relation to these offences“.</s>DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A state-linked Saudi news website says 11 princes were arrested and will be tried for staging a protest at one of the king’s palaces and refusing orders to leave. The Sabq website, quoting unnamed officials, reported Saturday that a division of the National Guard, which is tasked with protecting the royal family, was ordered to arrest the princes.

In addition, the news website reports the royals were sent to Ha’ir prison, a large maximum security facility south of the capital, Riyadh, run by Saudi intelligence services, where criminals, militants and al Qaeda terrorists are held.

Sabq reports the princes were demanding financial compensation from a judgment involving one of their cousins and demanding the king reverse a decision to suspend payments for royals’ water and electricity bills.

BBC News writes that the kingdom has roughly doubled oil prices and began a 5 percent tax on most goods and services — including food and utility bills.

Reuters points out that a drop in crude oil prices caused a budget deficit estimated at 195 billion riyals ($52 billion) in 2018.

Reuters also received a statement from the public prosecutor’s office saying that the princes were arrested.

“Despite being informed that their demands are not lawful, the 11 princes refused to leave the area, disrupting public peace and order. Members of a security services stepped in to restore order and the princes were arrested,” it read.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 32, has had a meteoric rise in power, which has caused rare tension within the royal family, Reuters reports.

The Saudi royal family is thought to number thousands, but the wealth and status between them can vary wildly.</s>Saudi authorities have detained 11 princes after they gathered at a royal palace in Riyadh to protest against austerity measures that included suspending the payment of their utility bills, Saudi media reported on Saturday.

The government information service, the Centre for International Communication, said it was checking the report.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, has introduced reforms that include cutting subsidies, introducing VAT and cutting perks to royal family members to try to cope with a drop in crude prices that has caused a budget deficit estimated at 195 billion riyals in 2018.

News website sabq.org said the princes had gathered at the Qasr a-Hokm, a historic royal palace, demanding the cancellation of a royal decree that stopped state payment of water and electricity bills for royal family members.

They were also demanding compensation for a death sentence issued against a cousin, Sabq said, without naming him.

“They [the princes] were informed of the error of their demands, but they refused to leave Qasr al-Hokm,” Sabq said, quoting unidentified sources. “A royal order was issued to the royal guards . . . to intervene and they were detained and put into al-Hayer prison in preparation to put them on trial.”

Sabq said the guards who arrested the princes were from a unit linked to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is leading a campaign of reforms that involved rounding up more than 200 senior officials, including some royal family members, suspected of corruption.

The website gave no details on the identities of the princes but said the leader of the group had been identified by the initials SAS.

“Everybody is equal before the law and anyone who does not implement regulations and instructions will be held accountable, no matter who he is,” the website added. – Reuters
Saudi authorities arrest 11 princes in Riyadh for staging a protest against Saudi Arabia's austerity measures.