Doha: Saudi security forces have arrested a man believed to belong to a group blamed for instigating protests and unrest in the country’s Eastern Province, the Interior Minsitry said on Friday.
Montadhar Ali Saleh Al Sbaitiin was captured on Thursday night in Awamiya, a village that has been the focal point of unrest since protests in early 2011 that called for an end to discrimination and for democratic reforms in the country.
He was one of 23 men wanted by Saudi authorities, who accuse them of serving the agenda of a foreign power -- usually a reference to Iran.
Saudi Arabia’s state news agency SPA, quoting the Interior Ministry spokesman, said no one was hurt in the operation. The security forces will track down the other suspects, he said, urging them to surrender.
In December, security forces killed four militants in eastern Saudi Arabia in a raid on a hideout used by gunmen who shot dead a policeman in the area earlier that month. The shootout was the deadliest incident in recent years in Awamiya.
Saudi Shiites complain of discrimination by the government.
The government denies discrimination and has accused those involved in attacks on security officers or protests of working on behalf of a foreign power.
