(Reuters/Washington Post) Saudi Arabia detained several prominent reformers Tuesday in a move their supporters described as a major setback to democratic change in the conservative Islamic kingdom. Eight people had been taken in by police, including former university professors Abdullah Hamid and Tawfiq Qussayer; Matrouk Faleh, a professor of politics at King Saud University in Riyadh; Mohammed Said Tayyib, a retired publisher; and poet Ali Dumaini. An Interior Ministry source said the men were being questioned for issuing announcements that "do not serve national unity or the cohesion of society based on Islamic sharia law."
2004-03-17 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive