Saudi Arabia’s interior ministry declares protests illegal, vows to prevent any law violation

Saudi Arabia said on Saturday that protests are illegal and vowed to ban all protests and marches, amid various calls for demonstrations demanding change in the ultra-conservative kingdom.

"Regulations in the kingdom forbid categorically all sorts of demonstrations, marches and sit-ins... as they contradict Islamic Sharia law and the values and traditions of Saudi society," the Saudi interior ministry said in a statement carried by SPA state news agency.

The statement claimed police were "authorized by law to take all measures needed against those who try to break the law," noting that security forces would use all measures to prevent any attempt to disrupt public order.

The ban follows a series of protests by the Saudi opposition in the kingdom's east in the past weeks mainly to demand the release of political prisoners they say are long held without trial.

Hundreds protested on Friday in the Eastern Province, calling for the release of an arrested Shiite cleric, Sheikh Tawfiq al-Aamer, and other detainees. The demonstration was staged after an appeal made on Facebook for a "Day of Rage" in the kingdom's east to demand the release Aamer, who was arrested on Sunday.
  
On Thursday night, 22 people were arrested as police dispersed a rally in Al-Qatif in which protesters demanded the release of prisoners, said Ibrahim al-Mugaiteeb, the head of Human Rights First in Saudi Arabia. "The protesters demanded the liberation of nine 'forgotten' prisoners in Al-Qatif, and also of Sheikh al-Aamer, whose picture they carried, and called for national unity between Sunnis and Shiites," Mugaiteeb told AFP by telephone.
  
Last week, King Abdullah returned to Riyadh after a three-month medical absence and unveiled $37 billion in benefits for citizens in an apparent bid to insulate the kingdom from protests spreading in several Arab countries.