Saudi Attorney General Confirms Reports on Arrest of 11 Princes

Attorney General of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Sheikh Saud Al Mojeb in a statement released on Saturday claimed that “a group of 11 princes staged a sit in at the historic Qasr Al-Hokm palace on Thursday” have been arrested because “they said they were objecting to a recent Royal Order that halted payments by the State to members of the Royal Family to cover their electricity and water utility bills.”

“They were also seeking compensation to be paid to them for a death sentence that was issued against one of their cousins who had been convicted of killing another man and executed in 2016,” the Saudi Attorney general claimed.

“Despite being informed that their demands are not lawful, the 11 princes refused to leave the area, disrupting public peace and order. Members of security services stepped in to restore order and the princes were arrested. They are detained at Al-Hayer prison south of the capital pending their trial,” he was quoted by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) as saying.

Meanwhile, social network users have reported that a local court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced a number of poets critical of the regime to five to 10 years in prison.

The Riyadh regime has detained scores of activists and public figures since September amid an effort by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to consolidate power among the sprawling royal family's power centers.

Hundreds of Saudi figures, including more than a dozen royals and ministers of the state, have been arrested as part of what has been called an anti-corruption drive.

Among those arrested in Riyadh is Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, majority owner of the Rotana media company and a business mogul, as well as Waleed Al Ibrahim, who owns MBC and Al Arabiya, a pan-Arab news channel based in Dubai.