Eleven Saudi Princes Reportedly Charged Over Anti-Austerity Protest

The princes were reported to have organized a sit-down strike in a royal palace in Riyadh, following a government order preventing them from receiving public money to pay for their electricity and water bills.

The royals, who are said to be held at a maximum-security jail 25 kilometers away from the kingdom’s capital, were charged on a “number of counts,” according to Press TV, citing a statement from the Saudi Information Ministry.

READ MORE: Saudi Arabia Releases Over 20 Corruption Detainees After Agreeing to Settlements

Commenting on the reasons for the princes’ arrests, Attorney General Saud al-Mojeb said on Sunday that they had refused to end the strike, despite being aware that their actions were unlawful.

However, a Saudi online activist who runs a Twitter account @mujtahidd, suggested that the primary reason for the arrests was the protest against a crackdown on the members of the royal family by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The reports of arrests emerged amid an anti-corruption push in Saudi Arabia. Since the start of the campaign last November, over 200 members of high-profile officials, including the members of the royal family, were arrested over the corruption charged.