Riyadh reportedly crushing dissent

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Aug. 31 (UPI) -- A crackdown in Saudi Arabia on Islamic militancy is used as a pretense to arrest dissidents seeking political reform, opponents said.

Washington praised Saudi Arabia for rounding up scores of Islamic militants in the years since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

Critics, however, said the ruling monarchy is using the crackdown as an excuse to silence opposition forces in the kingdom, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Mohammad al-Qahtani, who represents detained dissident and former Judge Suliman al-Reshoudi, complained the monarchy was using the fight against terrorism as an excuse.

"Using the anti-terror campaign has been the conspicuous Saudi policy to arrest and harass political reformists and human-rights activists," he told the Journal. "It is a serious threat to those dedicated to nonviolent change in the nation."

Lawyers have sued the Saudi interior ministry for what they say was the arbitrary arrest of the former judge, who is still held without charge more than three years after his arrest. The U.S. State Department, meanwhile, mentioned Reshoudi's name in its write-up on human rights in Saudi Arabia.

The interior minister threw out the case, however, and the Saudi government told the Journal it wouldn't comment on ongoing internal matters.