HRW highlights Shiite injustice

NEW YORK, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- The Saudi government has not done enough to address fair treatment for the minority Shiite Muslim community, Human Right Watch said.

Human Rights Watch in a 32-page report highlighted some of the more violent outbreaks of sectarian violence in Saudi Arabia in years.

Clashes between Shiite pilgrims and religious police broke out in the holy city of Medina in February, with claims of shootings and stabbings of Shiite clerics.

Meanwhile, discrimination continues to plague most of the nation, with Sunni scholars teaching Shiite students they are infidels. Sunni judges often disqualify Shiites on religious grounds and extrajudicial action runs rampant, the rights group said.

National leaders have pushed for some modest reforms, calling for national dialogue among the Sunni and Shiite leaders in the kingdom for the first time in 2003. Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, meanwhile, called for religious tolerance during high-profile speeches in New York and Madrid in 2008.

Human Rights Watch, however, said Saudi leaders have not done enough to address domestic concerns regarding sectarian issues.

"It is time for a new approach that treats Shiite as citizens with equal rights," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch.