Timeline of the 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests (January–April 2011)

Last updated

2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests
Part of Qatif conflict and the Arab Spring
Saudi Arabia (orthographic projection).svg
Date11 March 2011 – 24 December 2012
(1 year, 11 months and 3 days)
Location
Saudi Arabia

24°39′00″N46°46′01″E / 24.65°N 46.767°E / 24.65; 46.767
Caused by
Goals
Methods
Status
  • Saudi government victory
  • Occasional protests since 2013
Concessions
Parties
Lead figures

Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg Human Rights Defenders

show all (3)

Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg Independent Opposition leaders

Number
Protesters:Thousands [29]
Online campaign:26,000 [30]
Casualties and losses
Deaths:36
Injuries:100+ [31]
Arrests: Riyadh: 50; [32] [33] [34] East Province: 952 [35] [16]
Deaths:13 identified
Injuries:Unknown

The following is a timeline of the 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests from January to April 2011. The 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests are a series of ongoing protests taking place in Saudi Arabia, which began in January 2011, influenced by concurrent protests in the region.

Protests started with a 65-year-old man's self-immolation in Samtah, Jizan on 21 January [36] and protests of a few hundred people in late January in Jeddah [37] [38] and several times throughout February and early March in the cities of Qatif, al-Awamiyah, Riyadh, and Hofuf. [39] A "Day of Rage" was planned for 11 March. [40] [41] [42] One of the main organisers, Faisal Ahmed Abdul-Ahad [25] (or Abdul-Ahadwas [26] ), was alleged to have been killed by Saudi security forces on 2 March, [26] [27] by which time one of the Facebook groups discussing the plans had over 26,000 members. [30] On 11 March, several hundred people protested in Qatif, Hofuf and al-Amawiyah. [43] Khaled al-Johani demonstrated in Riyadh despite a massive police presence, [43] was interviewed by BBC Arabic Television, and has since then been detained in ʽUlaysha Prison. [44] [45] Al-Johani became known online as "the only brave man in Saudi Arabia". [44]

The Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) and the Saudi organisation Human Rights First Society called for ACPRA co-founder Mohammed Saleh Albejadi to be released following his arbitrary arrest in Buraidah on 21 March by Mabahith, the internal security agency. [46] In April, several small protests over labour rights took place in front of government ministry buildings in Riyadh, Ta'if and Tabuk. [47] [48] Protests, made up mainly of Shia protesters, continued in late March and April in Qatif and smaller cities in the Eastern Province such as al-Awamiyah, and Hofuf. [39] [29] [49] The protesters called for the release of prisoners, for the Peninsula Shield Force to be withdrawn from Bahrain, [11] [50] for equal representation in key offices and for reforms in political positions, as they feel marginalised. [49]

In response to the 22–23 March announcement of men-only municipal elections in late September 2011 to elect half the members of local councils, [17] [18] women organised a Facebook women's suffrage campaign called "Baladi", stating that Saudi Arabian law gives women electoral rights. [51] In April, women in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam tried to register as electors for the 22 September municipal elections despite officials stating that women could not participate. [51] [2]

January

21 January 2011

An unidentified 65-year-old man died on 21 January after setting himself on fire in the town of Samtah, Jizan. This was apparently the kingdom's first known case of self-immolation. [36] [52]

29 January 2011

On 29 January, hundreds of protesters gathered in the city of Jeddah in a rare display of criticism against the city's poor infrastructure after deadly floods swept through the city, killing eleven people. [37] Police stopped the demonstration about 15 minutes after it started. About 30 to 50 people were arrested. [38] Hamza Kashgari, at the time a journalist at Al-Bilad , criticised the authorities' response to the floods. [53] On the same day, an online campaign started on Facebook, making demands that included calling for Saudi Arabia to become a constitutional monarchy, and for "an end to corruption, an even distribution of wealth, and a serious solution for unemployment". [1]

February

5 February

On 5 February, about 40 women wearing black clothes demonstrated in Riyadh, calling for the release of prisoners held without trial. [1]

10 February

On 10 February, a Thomson Reuters report claimed that 10 intellectuals, human rights activists and lawyers came together to create the Umma Islamic Party – considered to be the first political party in Saudi Arabia since the 1990s – to demand the end of absolute monarchy in the country. [54] On 18 February, all ten founding members of the party were arrested and ordered to withdraw demands for political reform in exchange for their release. [55]

17 February

According to Reuters Africa, a small protest was held by Shia in the small town of al-Awamiyah, near Qatif in the Eastern Province [56] to demand the release of three political prisoners held since protests in the town on 19 March 2009 protesting an arrest warrant against the town's Shia imam, Sheikh Nimr Bagir al Namr. The prisoners were identified as Ali Ahmad al Faraj, the sheikh's 16-year-old nephew, and two others, Ali Salih Abdul Jabbar and Makki Al Abbas. [57] The three prisoners were released on 20 February. [56]

24 February

A protest was held in Qatif by Shi'a Muslims to demand the release of additional political prisoners. [58] Video posted to YouTube confirms the existence and location of the protest, showing the roundabout 350 meters south of Ohud Road on King Abdelaziz Road. [59]

25 February

A group called Jeddah Youth for Change called for a rally in Jeddah on 25 February.[ citation needed ]

Late February

Brian Whitaker of The Guardian interpreted [60] the creation of a website for people to publish complaints about government services, "shakra.com", [61] the circulation of at least three online petitions calling for political and legal reforms [60] and a call for reform that is "the result of meaningful interaction and dialogue among the different components of a society" by Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal [62] as protest actions that "in a Saudi context [are] momentous". [60]

March

3–4 March

About 100 people, mostly men, and one group of women, marched in Al-Awamiyah and Qatif in the Eastern Province, protesting against prisoners held without trial, calling out "Peaceful, peaceful". [63] In Qatif, 22 of the protesters were arrested.[ citation needed ] Police responses in Qatif included attacks on women protesters.[ citation needed ]

Protests following Friday 4 March prayers took place in Riyadh and Hofuf.[ citation needed ] In Riyadh, at least 3 people were arrested after criticising the monarchy.[ citation needed ] Both alarmed and annoyed by such action, the Saudi government reminded citizens that public protesting was banned, and that the ban would be strictly enforced. [64]

9–10 March

Protests took place in the evening of 9 March in Qatif. About 600–800 protesters were present at a similar protest on the evening of 10 March, calling for nine prisoners to be released. [65] [66] About 200 police were present. The police used "percussion bombs" [65] and shot at protesters with gunfire for about 10 minutes. Three protesters were injured and hospitalised with "moderate" injuries. [31]

11 March – "Day of Rage"

A "Day of Rage" was planned by Saudi Arabians on 11 March [40] at noon in solidarity with protests in Libya and Bahrain.[ citation needed ] A Facebook page called for a "11 March Revolution of Longing" and included demands for "the ousting of the regime" and for the national leader and the Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia to be chosen by election. [41] It also called for elections for national leadership, more women's rights and for freeing political prisoners. [42] As of 5 March, one of the Facebook groups calling for the Day of Rage had about 26,000 members. [30]

On 11 March itself, protests continued for the third day in a row in Qatif and extended to Hofuf and al-Amawiyah, with several hundred protesters participating in the three protests. [43] In Jeddah, The Los Angeles Times and Agence France Presse reported heavy military and police patrolling and an absence of protests. [43] [67]

In Riyadh, the police presence was "overwhelming" by early in the morning of 11 March, with large numbers of police cars present and helicopters that "crisscrossed the skies all day". [43] One person, Khaled al-Johani, walked past BBC Arabic Television journalists twice and both times was threatened by police that he would be imprisoned if he walked past the journalists, who were accompanied by state escorts, a third time.[ citation needed ] He stated, "I'm here to say we need democracy, we need freedom. We need to speak freely. We will reach out, the government doesn't own us. I was afraid to speak, but no more. We don't have dignity, we don't have justice!" [44] He stated that there is no freedom of the press in Saudi Arabia, since it is an absolute monarchy, and that living a dignified life in Saudi Arabia depends on an individual's connection and mercy of Al-Saud princes.[ citation needed ] After stating his opinion, al-Johani stated his worry that he would be detained before returning home and said that the journalists could visit him at al-Ha'ir or ʽUlaysha Prison. Al-Johani was detained after he returned home and was not allowed any contact with his family for 58 days. [44] [45] As of 20 April 2011, al-Johani was being held at ʽUlaysha Prison. [68] After visiting al-Johani in May, family members said that he had lost weight and was depressed. [45] AOL News said that al-Johani became a "folk hero in the blink of an eye" when the BBC broadcast al-Johani's full statement in April and a six-minute video "Where is Khaled?" was uploaded to YouTube. [44] According to Mohammad al-Qahtani of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association, al-Johani became known online as "the only brave man in Saudi Arabia". [44]

13 March

More than 200 people protested outside of the Ministry of the Interior in Riyadh on Sunday 13 March, asking for information about prisoners and their immediate release. [69] [70] Protester Ahmed Ali said that his brother has been imprisoned for four years and nothing is known about him nor the charges against him. Another protester said that his father has been in prison for 10 years without receiving medical attention for his colon cancer nor a trial. [69] The protesters asked to meet with the Minister for the Interior Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. The request was refused and entry to the Ministry building was refused. [69]

15–18 March

On 15 March, about 1000 people protested in Qatif calling for the Peninsula Shield Force to be withdrawn from Bahrain, where it is being used against Bahraini protesters. [71] A related protest took place in al-Awamiyah. [71] Hundreds of people protested in Qatif and the nearby region on 16 March, calling for the release of prisoners and expressing support for the Bahraini protesters. [11] Anti-riot forces were present at the protests. The Qatif demonstration lasted for about half an hour. Protesters called for the Peninsula Shield Force to be withdrawn from Bahrain. [11] The protests continued the following day, 17 March, in and near Qatif, with similar demands, and about 4000 protesters in Qatif. Police fired rubber bullets and several people were injured.[ citation needed ] One slogan used in the protests was "Bahrain Free Free. Saudi forces out!". [50] Similar protests took place on Friday 18 March, in Qatif,Omran, al-Awamiyah (about 2500 protesters), Safwa City and al-Rabeeya (1000 protesters each). [29] Ten people in Omran were injured from being hit by police batons. [29] One of the slogans in Qatif was "One people not two people – the people of Qatif and Bahrain!" "Shi'ites protest peacefully in eastern Saudi Arabia". The Jerusalem Post . Thomson Reuters. 18 March 2011. Archived from the original on 18 March 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2011.</ref>

20 March – 1 April

Calls for protests on 20 March were made on a Facebook page in late February. [72]

On 20 March, about 100 people demonstrated outside the Ministry of the Interior in Riyadh, calling for family members imprisoned without trial to be released, [73] for the third time in March, [74] following similar protests on 4 March [64] and 13 March. [69] [70] The demonstrators tried to enter the Ministry building, [33] which was surrounded by about 50 police cars. [32] About 15 [33] [32] to 50 [34] protesters were arrested.

Hundreds demonstrated in Qatif on 20 March against the use of the Peninsula Shield Force troops from the six Gulf Cooperation Council states [10] against the 2011 Bahraini uprising. [75] Reuters described the intervention in Bahrain as having caused the protests to intensify, reporting an incident in which the second home of Sheikh Wajeeh al-Awjami, a judge calling for street protests to stop, was burnt by angry youths. [75]

Similar protests by hundreds of people in villages near Qatif took place on Friday 25 March [12] and again in Qatif[ citation needed ] and al-Awamiyah [76] on 1 April.

April

5 April

About a hundred literacy campaign teachers held a street demonstration outside the Ministry of Civil Services in Riyadh on 5 April, demanding to be employed full-time. Similar demonstrations took place in Ta'if and Tabuk. Officials at the Ministry in Riyadh promised to fulfill the demands.[ citation needed ]

8 April

Hundreds of people again protested in Qatif and al-Awamiyah against the use of the Peninsula Shield Force troops from the six Gulf Cooperation Council states against the 2011 Bahraini uprising and for their own political rights and freedoms. [77] Thomson Reuters stated that no riot police were seen at the Qatif demonstration. [77]

10 April

On Sunday 10 April, small protests by literacy teachers and unemployed university graduates regarding labour rights took place in front of the Ministries of Civil Services and Education in Riyadh and the Ministry of Education in Jeddah. [47] [48] Facebook was used for coordinating one of the protests. [48]

14–15 April

Protests against the use of the Peninsula Shield Force troops in the 2011 Bahraini uprising and for local political rights and freedoms, including the release of prisoners held without trial, again took place in Qatif and al-Awamiyah on 14 and 15 April, with about 400–500 protesters in each town and no clashes with police. [49] [78]

21–22 April

Protests for similar reasons again took place in Qatif, al-Awamiyah [79] and Saihat [ citation needed ] by a few tens to a few hundred protesters. A new complaint made by the protesters was against the destruction of mosques in Bahrain by the Peninsula Shield Force. [79]

23–25 April

In a civil disobedience action from 23 to 25 April, women in Jeddah, [2] Riyadh and Dammam [51] tried to register as electors for the 22 September municipal elections despite an official ban against women's participation. The Gulf News said that there was "strong public opinion ... supporting women's participation in the election process" following local newspapers' publication of photos of women waiting in queues to register for the election. Fawzia Al Hani, chair of the "Baladi" Facebook campaign, said that Saudi Arabian law states that women have the right to vote and to stand as candidates. [51]

29 April

In the Eastern Province during the days leading up to 29 April, about 20 to 30 people, including two bloggers, were arrested for anti-government activities. [80] On 29 April, a few hundred people demonstrated in Qatif and al-Awamiyah for similar reasons to previous weeks. [81] Five protesters were injured by police in Qatif.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

Qatif or Al-Qatif is a governorate and urban area located in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. It extends from Ras Tanura and Jubail in the north to Dammam in the south, and from the Persian Gulf in the east to King Fahd International Airport in the west. This region has its own municipality and includes the Qatif downtown, Safwa, Saihat, Tarout Island, and many other smaller cities and towns.

The Peninsula Shield Force is the military arm of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). It is intended to deter, and respond to military aggression against any of the GCC member countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

The Saudi government does not conduct a census on religion or ethnicity, but some sources estimate the Shia population in Saudi Arabia to make up around 10-15% of the approximately 34 million natives of Saudi Arabia.

Al-Awamiyah, also spelled Awamia, is a town situated in the Al-Qatif region in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. As of 2009, it has a population of about 25,500 people. Al-Awamiyah is bordered by the Al-Ramis farms to the east and some other farms to the west and the south. To the north side, there is a dividing line between Al-Awamiyah and the neighboring Safwa city, so the town cannot expand any more and provide housing land for its growing population. Due to this limited land, the people move out of the town and settle in nearby neighborhoods, notably Al-Nasera which is home to almost 2500 people living in 250 homes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests</span> Arab Spring protests in Saudi Arabia

The protests in Saudi Arabia were part of the Arab Spring that started with the 2011 Tunisian revolution. Protests started with a self-immolation in Samtah and Jeddah street protests in late January 2011. Protests against anti-Shia discrimination followed in February and early March in Qatif, Hofuf, al-Awamiyah, and Riyadh. A Facebook organiser of a planned 11 March "Day of Rage", Faisal Ahmed Abdul-Ahad, was allegedly killed by Saudi security forces on 2 March, with several hundred people protesting in Qatif, Hofuf and al-Amawiyah on the day itself. Khaled al-Johani demonstrated alone in Riyadh, was interviewed by BBC Arabic Television, was detained in ʽUlaysha Prison, and became known online as "the only brave man in Saudi Arabia". Many protests over human rights took place in April 2011 in front of government ministry buildings in Riyadh, Ta'if and Tabuk and in January 2012 in Riyadh. In 2011, Nimr al-Nimr encouraged his supporters in nonviolent resistance.

The Human Rights First Society is a non-governmental and non-profit organisation which seeks to promote human rights in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is one of the few independent groups in Saudi Arabia monitoring human rights, along with the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association, the Society for Development and Change and the Association for the Protection and Defense of Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia. The HRFS was initiated as an organisation dedicated to protecting and defending human rights in Saudi Arabia according to Islamic teachings. The HRFS stands for applying the rule of law, freedoms of expression and association, and abolishing all discrimination in Saudi society on the basis of gender or religious beliefs.

Khaled al-Johani is a teacher of religious instruction in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He was imprisoned, without charge or trial for nearly one year, at ʽUlaysha Prison for having publicly asked for freedoms and democracy in Saudi Arabia – an absolute monarchy – during the 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests. His public statement was made to a BBC Arabic Television team on a street in Riyadh in the presence of security forces. On 22 February 2012 he was charged in a court for al-Qaeda suspects and a trial date set for April 2012. Al-Johani is an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience as of February 2012.

ʽUlaysha Prison is a prison in Riyadh run by the Saudi Arabian secret police agency Mabahith for arbitrary detention. During the 2011 Saudi Arabian protests, "the only brave man in Saudi Arabia", Khaled al-Johani, was held in 'Ulaysha Prison and it is suspected that several founding members of the Umma Islamic Party are being held there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests (May–December 2011)</span>

The following is a timeline of the 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests from May to December 2011. The 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests are a series of ongoing protests taking place in Saudi Arabia, which began in January 2011, influenced by concurrent protests in the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests (January–June 2012)</span>

The following is a timeline of the 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests from January to June 2012. The 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests are a series of ongoing protests taking place in Saudi Arabia, which began in January 2011, influenced by concurrent protests in the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Society for Development and Change</span>

The Society for Development and Change is a Saudi Arabian human rights non-governmental organisation that became active in 2011, campaigning for equal human rights for Shia in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. The organisation called for a constitution and an elected legislature for Eastern Province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nimr al-Nimr</span> Shia Muslim religious figure and Saudi government critic; executed in 2016

Ayatollah Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, commonly referred to as Sheikh Nimr, was a Shia sheikh from Al-Awamiyah in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province whose arrest and execution was widely condemned, including by governments and human rights organizations.

The Specialized Criminal Court is a non-Sharia court created in Saudi Arabia in 2008 that tries suspected terrorists and human rights activists. On 26 June 2011, the court started trials of 85 people suspected of being involved in Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the 2003 Riyadh compound bombings and in September 2011 another 41 al-Qaeda suspects appeared in the court. In the same year, the court held trial sessions of human rights activists, including co-founder Mohammed Saleh al-Bejadi of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) and Mubarak Zu'air, a lawyer for long-term prisoners, and Khaled al-Johani, who spoke to BBC Arabic Television at a protest in Riyadh, thus becoming known as "the bravest man in Saudi Arabia". The court convicted 16 of the human rights activists to sentences of 5–30 years' imprisonment on 22 November 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the 2011 Bahraini uprising</span>

The following is a timeline of the Bahraini uprising from February to March 2011, beginning with the start of protests in February 2011 and including the Saudi and Emirati-backed crackdown from 15 March.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests (from July 2012)</span>

The following is a timeline of the 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests since July 2012. The 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests are a series of ongoing protests taking place in Saudi Arabia, which began in January 2011, influenced by concurrent protests in the region.

Dissidents have been detained as political prisoners in Saudi Arabia during the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s and earlier. Protests and sit-ins calling for political prisoners to be released took place during the 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests in many cities throughout Saudi Arabia, with security forces firing live bullets in the air on 19 August 2012 at a protest at al-Ha'ir Prison. As of 2012, recent estimates of the number of political prisoners in Mabahith prisons range from a denial of any political prisoners at all by the Ministry of Interior, to 30,000 by the UK-based Islamic Human Rights Commission and the BBC.

The Arab Spring unrests and revolutions unfolded in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria and Bahrain, and in the rest of the region, some becoming violent, some facing strong suppression efforts, and some resulting in political changes.

The 2017–2020 Qatif unrest was a phase of conflict in the Qatif region of Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, between Saudi security forces and the local Shia community, that arose sporadically starting in 1979, including a series of protests and repression during the 2011–12 Saudi Arabian protests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qatif conflict</span> Conflict in Saudi Arabia between Shias and Sunnis

The Qatif conflict is a modern phase of sectarian tensions and violence in Eastern Arabia between Arab Shia Muslims and Arab Sunni majority, which has ruled Saudi Arabia since early 20th century. The conflict encompasses civil unrest which has been sporadically happened since the 1979 uprising, pro-democracy and pro-human rights protests and occasional armed incidents, which increased in 2017 as part of the 2017–20 Qatif unrest.

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