11 Saudi Princes Sent to Maximum-Security Prison After Protesting Utility Bills
- Royal-family members held at al-Ha’er prison pending trial
- Follows November detentions in kingdom’s anti-corruption drive
Mohammed bin Salman
Photographer: Fayez Nureldine/AFP via Getty Images
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Saudi authorities made a fresh round of arrests of royal-family members as a group of princes staged a palace protest in the capital over the non-payment of their electricity and water bills.
Security services on Thursday arrested the 11 princes after they refused to leave Qasr Al-Hokm in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s Attorney General, Sheikh Saud Al Mojeb, said in an emailed statement. The princes, who objected to a decree that ordered the state to stop paying their utility bills, will be held at al-Ha’er prison pending their trial, Al Mojeb said.