Tuesday, January 29, 2008

"Saudi reformists are to send a new petition to King Abdullah calling for the release of fellow activists and an end to the harassment of bloggers and journalists, one of them told AFP. The petition also demands the promulgation of a law "guaranteeing people's rights and freedom... on the basis of Islamic tenets," said Mohammed bin Hudeijan al-Harbi, one of 12 Islamist reformists who drafted the document. The petition, which complains that the scope of freedom and "peaceful expression" in the ultra-conservative kingdom has narrowed over the past year, is timed to mark one year since nine reformists were arrested."