Saudi princes detained after utility bill protest

RIYADH - Eleven Saudi princes face trials in the kingdom after being arrested for a protest against the end of state subsidies for their utility bills, the attorney general said on Sunday.

The princes were detained after gathering outside a palace in Riyadh on Thursday to demonstrate against a government decision to stop paying the water and electricity bills of royals.

They also demanded compensation for a death sentence issued against one of their cousins, convicted of murder and executed in 2016, Attorney General Saud al-Mojeb said.

Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, has introduced reforms that include reducing energy subsidies, introducing value-added tax and cutting some perks to royal family members to try to cope with a drop in crude prices that has caused a budget deficit estimated at 195 billion riyals ($52 billion) in 2018.

The princes had gathered on Thursday at Qasr al-Hokm palace demanding the cancellation of a recent decree that halted state payment 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 a security services stepped in to restore order and the princes were arrested," the public prosecutor's statement said, without identifying the princes.

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 descend from a cousin of late King Abdulaziz, who founded the modern kingdom.

Dozens of princes, high officials and senior businessmen were rounded up in November in a crackdown on graft that has boosted the power of 32-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Reuters - Afp