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 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. "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. 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.
Saudi authorities arrest 11 princes in Riyadh for staging a protest against Saudi Arabia's austerity measures.