Authorities in Saudi Arabia have arrested 11 princes after they gathered at a royal palace in Riyadh in a rare protest against the government suspending payment of their utility bills, the public prosecutor said on Saturday, according to Arab News.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, has introduced reforms that include reducing energy subsidies, Value Added Tax (VAT), and cutting some allowances to members of the royal family to try to cope with a drop in crude oil prices that has caused a budget deficit estimated at 195 billion riyals ($52 billion) in 2018.
On Thursday, the princes had gathered at Qasr Al Hokm palace demanding the cancellation of a recent decree that halted state payments of water and electricity bills for royal family members and seeking compensation for a death sentence implemented in 2016 against one of their cousins, Prince Turki bin Saud Al Kabeer.
"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,” the public prosecutor’s statement said, without identifying the princes.
"Following their arrest, they have been charged on a number of counts in relation to these offenses. They are detained at Al Hayer prison south of the capital pending their trial," the public prosecutor added.
News website Sabq earlier identified the leader of the group of princes by the initials S.A.S.
The Saud Al Kabeer branch of the House of Saud descends from a cousin of late King Abdulaziz, who founded the modern kingdom. The rise of 32-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his ambitious domestic policies have caused rare tensions within the royal family, which for decades favored rule by
Dozens of princes, high officials, and senior businessmen were rounded up in November in a crackdown on graft that has boosted Prince Mohammed’s power.
They have been held at the five-star Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh while government officials negotiate financial settlements, asking them to return assets and cash - which they may have gained illegally - in return for their freedom.