Saudi security forces shot and killed three Shia freedom seekers and six others wounded, when they opened fire on a march in the oil-producing Eastern Province, home to a large Shia minority.

 21-year-old Muneer al-Meedani died from a bullet in the chest fired by police while dispersing demonstrators in the center of the town of al-Qatif on Thursday.

Muneer al-Meedani was the sixth to be killed since November.

According to Qatif News in the past 24 Hours Saudi police have killed two more Shia.  Zuhair Saeed died from bullet in his stomach.

 Security forces have arrested and released around 500 Shia over the prostests, and are currently holding 80 Shia

behind bars, according to activist counts.

Shia Rights Watch condemns the closure of the largest Shia mosque in Al-Ahsa, one of the Shia city in Saudi Arabia and ask the government to know that the continuing the discrimination might bring unrest to the country. It is the Shia’s right to practice peaceful programs in the month of Moharam and it is the job of the government to protect their citizens, not to oppressed them.

According to Rasid, Saudi security authorities ordered the closure of the newly established Shia mosques Buhaligha, which opened earlier this year.

The closures came in the beginning of the month of Moharam in which Shia commemorate the death of Imam Hussein, the prophet’s Mohammad grandson.

The authorities have not given a clear explanation for this action but they return fear to the Shia citizens in Al- Ahsa, in result of discrimination toward them and not allowing them to practice their rights.

Al-Ahsa was under years of security watch,  ending up in the arrest of hundreds of Shia citizens and long closure of dozens of Shia mosques, religious schools and family service centers.

Even though government gave the permission of opening some of the Shia mosques and centers, the last crackdown showed that discrimination toward Shia in Saudi Arabia will not rest.

Not to forget that Shia population is more than 10 percent of the Saudi Arabia.

Ali Agrairees and Muneeb Aladnan are two Shia killed by Saudi security forces on Wednesday evening 11-23-2011. Security forces intruded the funeral of the two Shia killed this week and raises the death toll to four in Eastern Province since Sunday.

An activist said: “Everything was fine until the body arrived, then the people got very angry and started to chant anti-government slogans and the riot police shot in the air.”

“People came back onto the streets after evening prayer and the riot police started shooting at them directly. I could hear shooting from 8 p.m. until midnight.”

Source: rasid.com

Another Shia died by a police shot on Monday night amid the crackdown in Qatif, which increased the death toll to two Shia within 24 hours. Sources confirmed to Rasid that Ali al-Felfel, 20-year old, received a direct bullet in the chest. The victim, from Shwaika neighborhood, was taken immediately after the shot to al-Zahra Hospital where he died.

Saudi security forces used live ammunitions to disperse the demonstrators in Qatif. Demonstrators rallied, protesting the death of Naser al-Muheshi, who was killed by police on Sunday night. According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), al-Muheshi’s father said that his son was shot by four bullets in the back. He insisted: “I will not give up my son’s blood”. He described the incident as “a snapshot of chaos”.

Protests of Monday night witnessed anti-government slogans that refused the use of live bullets against citizens. Witnesses told Rasid that several protesters were injured by police shootings. Residents said that barrage of police fire shots were heard in the area from Monday afternoon and continued until night hours.

A police spokesman in the Eastern Province declined to comment, according to AFP. “We cannot give any comment regarding this incident. It is an affair of the Ministry of Interior.”

Local rights sources have reported the injury of 11 Shia by police fire since the beginning of peaceful protests since last March. The demonstrations demanded the release of political detainees, in addition to political reforms and ending sectarian discrimination. Not to forget, every time Shia ask for their rights in the Arab world, they get the bullet instead.

Source: rasid.com

A Saudi lad was killed Sunday night by police fire at a security checkpoint in Qatif.  Witnesses told Rasid that Naser al-Muheshi, 19-year old, was seen lain on the ground near a checkpoint at Riyadh Street after being shot by police.  It was not known at the beginning if he was dead or not, but sources indicated later that he was clinically dead when his body was brought to the hospital.  Witnesses said that the victim was left lain at the checkpoint for a long time until an ambulance arrived to rescue him.  Till this moment, no details are available as to why the police opened fire at the victim. After the incident, many police vehicles were seen in the area, which closed the surrounding streets.

Source: rasid.com

Months have passed since the beginning of the Arab Spring and Bahrain still remains the only country that Human Rights issues have minimal representations. People of Bahrain remain under pressure and this sectarian issue escalades to higher levels of inhuman activities and hate against the shia in monarchy of Bahrain. Parents of Ali Shamimy report their son, a 17 years old young adult, lost while he was traveling to Bahrain from Saudi Arabia to visit few of the relatives in Bahrain. Later in that same day, Shamimy’s relatives contact Ali’s parents in Saudi Arabia, and mentions that Ali was forcefully taken from the door steps of where he was visiting his relatives on the 17^th of October , at approximately 5 pm. Shamimy family members seek freedom of their son from Bahraini prisons while he is a Saudi Arabia residence.

Shamimy family has exhausted all the options in the Saudi Arabia, and has even been rejected by the Saudi embassy in Bahrain without any explanation or even investigation of the issue only because the family comes from Al Awamia- Qatif province of Saudi Arabia, which is mainly a Shia populated province.

Ali Shamimy’s relatives have tried to reach out to the police authorities however no updates have been given as to what his status is. Later that week an anonymous source who declared to be Ali’s prison mate told the family that their son Ali has been under endless amount of torture and assault, until he was moved to Bahrain’s political prison after spending a couple days in the local Police Station. Ali’s inmate told his family, “At the beginning of his arrival, Ali was pushed and forced on the ground and while one of [the assailants] boots was on Ali’s face and the officer had forcefully hit Ali multiple times and called him names.”

Unfortunately, no humanitarian organization has yet been able to reach the Saudi Arabia or even Bahraini authorities, and Shamimy family among thousands of other families hope that more spot light is shed on similar inhumane issues, and the monarchy of Bahrain is forced to accept their mistakes! Shia Rights Watch, and other humanitarian organizations are taking every possible action to get some results or news updated about Ali Shamimy and thousands of other innocent prisoners, and their effort will not stop until there has been changes or results.

After all the effort of the humanitarian organization including Shia Rights Watch, Ali Shamimy released in 12/12/2011

Saudi Wahhabi Authorities Arrested the Shia Citizen Abdullah Mohammad al-Mabyouq

According to information received by the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in the Arabian Peninsula ( CDHRAP ), the Saudi authorities arrested on 9 July 2011, the Shia citizen (Abdullah Mohammad al-Mabyouq from al-Qatif of the Eastern Province ) at al-Batha check-point detention center on the Saudi Arabia & United Arab Emirates Border and then moved to al-Dammam prison. Al-Mabyouq was not accused of any formal accusation. He was denied family visit and his fate is unknown.

The Saudi authorities are still holding for more than 40 Shiites accused of participation in demonstrations in Qatif.

DUBAI: Saudi security forces have detained at least 22 minority Shias who protested last week against discrimination, activists said on Sunday, as the kingdom tried to keep the wave of Arab unrest outside its borders.

Saudi Shias have staged small demonstrations in the eastern province, which holds much of the oil wealth of the world’s top crude exporter.

The province is near Bahrain, also the scene of protests in recent weeks by majority Shias against their Sunni rulers.

“Twenty-two were arrested on Thursday plus four on Friday, so the total is 26. This was all in Qatif,” said rights activist Ibrahim al-Mugaiteeb, who heads the independent Saudi-based Human Rights First Society.

A Shia activist in the province’s main town of Qatif also said he knew of 22 arrests.

Saudi Interior Ministry officials could not be reached for comment.