Timeline of Unrest in Eastern Province from Jan 2006 – Dec. 2011
Unrest in Dec. 2011:
Dec. 5 - Protesters on Monday held placards bearing the pictures of those killed by Saudi forces in the city of Qatif. Demonstrators also took to the streets in nearby towns and villages including Awamiyah, shouting slogans against the ruling Al Saud family. Meanwhile, activists said military vehicles have surrounded some villages and parts of Qatif. Last month, Saudi regime forces opened fire on thousands of anti-regime protesters and killed five people. Saudi demonstrators criticize “systematic discrimination” in the kingdom, saying they are targeted for demanding more freedom and equality.
Unrest in November 2011:
Nov. 10 - Hajj pilgrims from the Saudi city of Qatif have staged a protest rally in the holy city of Mecca, urging Riyadh to withdraw troops from Bahrain. Expressing solidarity with anti-regime protesters in the neighboring country, Saudi protesters called on their government and other Arab countries to leave Bahrainis alone. The rally came one day after hundreds of Bahraini Hajj pilgrims rallied in Mecca, demanding the downfall of the Al Khalifa dynasty.
Nov. 21 - Saudi Wahabi security forces have shot martyred a 19-year-old Shia boy in the Shia populated city of Qatif in the Eastern Province of the Wahabi Kingdom.
According to the Shiite News Correspondent, Nasser al-Mahishi was martyred while walking on a street along with his friends. A demonstration was held near his home after he was shot. Sources informed that more than 10 people including a 6 years old girl have been severely injured. Saudi forces surrounded the area. Protesters chanted slogans against the US-backed Al Saud royal family.
Nov. 22 - Saudi Wahabi police have fired live bullets at anti-government demonstrators protesting the martyrdom of a teenage boy in the city of Qatif, killing several mourners including a nine-year-old girl. Activists say regime forces attacked protesters with artillery fire and machine guns in the city, adding that soldiers are conducting house to house searches . Thousands of Saudi demonstrators were mourning the 19-year-old Nasser al-Mahishi, who was martyred by regime forces, when they were attacked. Mourners also chanted slogans against the US-backed Al Saud royal family. Mahishi was shot by regime forces late on Sunday while walking down a street in Qatif with his friends. He succumbed to his wounds on Monday.
Similar anti-government protest also took place in the nearby town of Awamiyah, where protesters burned tires and blocked main roads. There were no reports of police violence there.
Nov. 24 - Another Two Shia Muslims were shot martyred during renewed Shiite protests in the Shia dominated Qatif region of Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, bringing the death toll of the country's latest protests to five. According to the Shiite News Correspondent, The recent spate of protests broke out in the Shia dominated areas of Qaftif region following the martyrdom of two Shiite protesters. Thousands of people have taken to the streets in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province city of Qatif in a protest at the Al Saud regime, calling for political and social reforms. It may be noted here that the demonstrators marched late Tuesday in the towns of Shweika and Awamiya calling on authorities to hand over the bodies of the two protesters killed in clashes with police this week.
Unrest in October 2011: (renewal of unrest)
Fourteen people, including 11 policemen, were hurt when riots erupted Oct. 3 in Al-Awamia. Saudi's interior ministry blamed the unrest on a "foreign country," according to a statement released by the kingdom's official news agency. Tension in the village grew Oct. 3 when Saudi police arrested two men, both in their 70s, in a bid to force their wanted sons, accused of taking part in Shia-led protests, to surrender, a Shia activist had said. Nimr said some protesters used guns during the clashes with police "and we do not accept this. This is not how we operate. This is not in our interest. We will be the losers (if we follow in this path)."
Oct. 2 - According to the Shiitenews correspondent hundreds of Saudis took to the streets in Qatif to protest against the detention of two senior citizens. Saudi security forces took the two men hostage in a bid to force their sons, who are wanted by Saudi authorities for participating in anti-government protests, surrender themselves to authorities.
Oct. 3 - Security forces have clashed in Saudi Arabia with pro-reform protesters in the Qatif Governorate, Press TV reports. The Saudis had gathered in an anti-government demonstration in the province's Awamiyah village, a Press TV correspondent reported. They chanted slogans against the province's Governor, Prince Mohammed bin Fahd, -- the son of the late King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud.
According to Shiitenews correspondent Police moved in Oct. 3 to break up a second day of small protests against the arrests of the fathers of two fugitive dissidents, firing in the air and beating marchers with clubs, residents said. The Interior Ministry blamed what it described as "seditious" residents, saying they attacked security forces with guns and firebombs and had the backing of a foreign enemy — an apparent reference to rival power Iran. Some of the attackers rode in on motorcycles, it said. The clash in the town of al-Awamiya wounded 11 security officers and three civilians, said a ministry statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency. Forces dispersed the crowd but were then fired on from a nearby building. A firebomb was also lobbed at them, the statement said. According to Shiite News, in Monday's confrontations, protesters threw stones and damaged vehicles in response to the police crackdown, residents said. They made no mention of weapons carried by the crowd of about 50 protesters.
Oct. 4 - Saudi Arabian protesters have held a rally in the city of Qatif, despite the heavy presence of police. Protesters called for the immediate release of thousands of political prisoners and demanded the resignation of the Qatif governor. Activists say several buses loaded with regime forces arrived near the site of the protest. The protest rally comes less than one day after a similar protest in the city in which gunshots were heard throughout the night. Witnesses say hundreds of Saudis gathered outside the police headquarters in Qatif, demanding their immediate release, but security forces dispersed the crowd using force. Many activists are reported to be injured in the violence. According to the activists, most of the detained political thinkers are being held by the government without trial or legitimate charges and were arrested for merely looking suspicious.
Oct. 13 - Anti-government protesters have taken to the streets in of Awamiyah, calling for democratic changes in the Persian Gulf kingdom, Press TV reports. Over the past months, Saudi activists in the Eastern Province have staged several anti-government protests, demanding reforms and the immediate release of political prisoners. Awamiyah has recently been under siege by Saudi security forces.
Oct. 24 - Five young Shia men were wounded after Saudi Wahabi security forces opened fire nearby two check points located in the center of Shia dominated Qatif city. Rights sources told Shiite News that Saudi Wahabi security men opened fire and injured four young men. The incident took place at a security check point in Shuwaikah neighborhood in Qatif. Our sources said that the four youngsters (all from Qudaih village) were riding motorcycles when they faced a barrage of live bullets that hit them in various body parts. Consistent reports from local residents of the area indicated that security men located in the check points used to unprecedentedly open fire during the last two weeks. Since two weeks, according to these reports, hundreds of armed riot police and security vehicles spread along King Abdulaziz Street, which crosses the city of Qatif. During the recent months, this street witnessed many rallies by protesters demanding the release of political Shia detainees and demanding other political reforms.
Unrest in September 2011:
Sept 9 – thousands of anti-Israel protesters have taken to the streets in several Saudi Arabian cities and mark the International Quds Day. Protesters in the town of Awamiyah in the al-Qatif have burned the Israeli flag on Friday, witnesses said. Protesters in the eastern city of Qatif have called on all citizens of the city to join the international rally. Anti-Israeli protesters also voiced their support for the people of Bahrain and condemned their government for aiding the Al Khalifa regime's brutal crackdown on peaceful Bahraini protesters. Millions of people around the world come out on this day to show support for the people of Palestine and to call for an end to Israel's illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories.
Unrest in August 2011:
August 17 - Government forces attacked Saudi Arabian peaceful demonstrators who took to the streets of Awamiyah town late on Wednesday, witnesses said. During the protest, people demanded respect for human rights and the release of political prisoners in the country. At least two demonstrators were arrested after breaking up the rally, according to reports.
Unrest in July 2011:
July 1 - Saudi protesters have taken to the streets in Qatif demanding the release of political prisoners in the Arab country. Despite tight security measures, the protesters held the anti-government demonstration following the Friday Prayers. The protesters also condemned Saudi Arabia's involvement in the crackdowns on anti-government protests in Bahrain, and urged the immediate withdrawal of Saudi troops from the tiny Persian Gulf sheikdom.
July 18 - the Saudi government re-opened three Shi'a mosques which have been closed before three years and permitted to hold prayers in them . After efforts by Shi'a delegation met on Monday with the governor of Al-Ahsa Badr bin Muhammad bin Jalawi the governor of the Ahsa region .The three mosques in Al Khobar city are: al-Khobar mosque with the Imamate Sayyid Hashim Ali al-Nasir al-Salman, al-Azizyah mosque with the Imamate Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Nasir and the mosque of al-Thaqba mosque with the Imamate Saikh Yousif al-Mazeni.
Saudi wahhabi authorities, closed those three Shiite mosques in AlKhobar; under the pretext that they were established without an official license and arrested their Imams for some time. In 2009, the local authorities closed down several Ismaili places of worship in recent years in Al Khobar, Abqaiq, Jubail, Dammam, and Al Khafji and called the custodian of those mosques and forced them to sign an undertaking to stop praying in them or they will be sent to jail. In 2009 the Saudi authorities closed down the single Shia mosque in Dammam and prevented the Shia citizens to enter the mosque to hold Friday prayers.
Unrest in June 2011:
June 10 - Saudi Wahhabi authorities on released 17 Shiite detainees arrested during protests in the Qatif who spent more than three months in jail without trial. The release of the detainees based on a meeting between the Deputy Governor of the Eastern Province and local leaders of the shiite Muslims of Saudia Arabia. The Saudi authorities are still holding for more than 140 Shiites accused of participation of last demonstrations in Qatif . Peaceful Demonstrations occurred in Qatif and smaller cities in the Eastern Province such as al-Awamiyah, Safwa, and Hofuf in April and May. Demonstrators called for the release of the so-called “Forgotten Prisoners,”
They also called for the Peninsula Shield Force to be withdrawn from Bahrain , for equal representation in key offices and for reforms in political positions, as they feel marginalized.
June 24 - The video recording, dated June 24, showed some 30 men, many in Western clothes, marching with white shrouds that symbolize willingness to die as martyrs, in the city of Qatif on Friday , demanding basic rights and the release of prisoners. A Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman said he was not aware of the report but would check with local police. A local rights activist said the protest, inspired by a government crackdown in neighboring Bahrain, was the first one of its kind in the area in two months. "The demonstrators were not calling for bringing down the regime. They were simply demanding basic rights and an end to sectarian discrimination," Mohammed al-Said said by telephone. He said activists had suspended protests in April following government promises to start a dialogue with them and free detainees.
Some of the demonstrators had inscribed the text of Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on their backs. "No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile," read the red text, written in bold Arabic letters.
The demonstrators also voiced solidarity with activists in Bahrain, facing a continuing crackdown from the government after protests were crushed in March. "Saudi army out, Bahrain is free," the protesters in Qatif chanted.
June 22 - A separate and smaller night protest was posted on YouTube, showing a handful of young men marching in the town of Awwamiya while chanting "God is Greatest." Activists also released still pictures of a separate protest by veiled women in full black garb, who also donned white shrouds on their backs to symbolize martyrdom marching in eastern Saudi Arabia. "We demand the release of prisoners forgotten (for) 16 years)," one placard in red and blue read. "We will take all paths, and will not shy away from our prisoners, rights," another placard read.
Unrest in May 2011:
According to the amendment published on Friday (May 1), punishments for breaking the media laws include a fine of half a million riyals ($133,000) and the shutting down of the publication that published the violation.
May 1 , Saudi Authorities detained the Shi'ite human activist Fadhel Makki al-Manasef for allegedly taking part in demonstrations staged in Qatif in early March .
May 6 - Hundreds of Saudi anti-government protesters have taken to the streets in the eastern city of Qatif, condemning the brutal crackdown on Bahraini anti-regime demonstrators. Despite tight security measures, Saudi protesters answered a call for massive demonstrations in the Eastern Province by the Kingdom's human rights campaigners. It was not clear whether it was an isolated protest rally in Qatif or as it had been planned before, anti-government protesters from seven cities in the east joined each other in Qatif. The protesters also condemned the arbitrary detention of anti-government protesters. According to Human Rights Watch, more than 160 dissidents have been arrested since February as part of the Saudi crackdown on anti-government protesters. Anti-government group the Revolution against Al Saud, which calls for constitutional reform, transparency and accountability, legislative elections as well as the establishment of a government that serves the people, has also urged Saudis to demonstrate in other parts of the country.
May 12 - Hundreds of Saudi took out anti-government rally in Awamiyah of Qatif Province condemning the illegal detention of the innocent Shia youths by the Saudi-wahabi forces. According to the Shiite News Correspondent, The Saudi-Wahabi forces have shifted the innocent Shia youths from unknown places on the allegation of their participation in the anti-government protests. The area people said that dozens of detainees accused of participating in protest marches, which came out in Qatif province recently did not have a definite link, but the protests were taken "arbitrary" of checkpoints that have surrounded the area.
May 13 - Hundreds of protesters have poured into the streets in of Awamiyah and Qatif to condemn the kingdom's occupation of Bahrain and expressing solidarity with anti-government protesters in Bahrain, Saudi demonstrators in the cities called for the immediate withdrawal of KSA troops Bahrain.
Unrest in April 2011:
April 1 - Hundreds of people have protested peacefully in Saudi Arabia's eastern city of Qatif, safavia and Awamiya, calling on the country's military to end its incursion into Bahrain. On Friday, protesters defied the government ban on demonstrations in Qatif and held signs that called on the government to pull out of the Persian Gulf state. They waved mostly Bahraini, but also Saudi, flags. They shouted slogans including: "Oil and unemployment, where is the justice!" and "Bahrain free, Peninsula army out!" and carried placards which read: "The people want human rights!" activists told Reuters. Security forces -- which included police cars, at least two armored vehicles and about ten buses -- kept their distance from the protesters, they said.
April 8 - Hundreds of Saudi anti-government protesters took to the streets in Qatif and Awamiyah to condemn the Kingdom's military intervention in Bahrain. Shia protesters called for the immediate withdrawal of Saudi troops from Bahrain.