Three members of Saudi Arabia’s highest religious authority have reportedly been refusing to attend the council’s sessions in a show of strong protest against “systematic moral corruption” in the ultra-conservative kingdom. RNA - Exiled academic and political dissident Saeed bin Nasser al-Ghamedi wrote in a post published on his official Twitter page on Monday that the three members of the Council of Senior Scholars have declined to take part in the council’s meetings after they were barred from making mention of systematic moral corruption in the country.
Even though Ghamedi did not name the three Saudi scholars, he did not rule out possible issuance of an order to prevent the trio from attending sessions of the Council for unknown reasons.
Saudi Arabia has stepped up politically-motivated arrests, prosecution and conviction of peaceful dissident writers and human rights campaigners.
According to Press TV, Saudi officials have also intensified crackdown in the country's Shia-populated Eastern Province.
Eastern Province has been the scene of peaceful demonstrations since February 2011. Protesters have been demanding reforms, freedom of expression, the release of political prisoners, and an end to economic and religious discrimination against the oil-rich region.
The protests have been met with a heavy-handed crackdown by the regime, with regime forces increasing security measures across the province.
Over the past years, Riyadh has also redefined its anti-terrorism laws to target activism.
847/940