Saudi Arabia's attorney general confirmed that 11 princes had been arrested after protesting the kingdom's austerity measures and would face trial after "disrupting public peace and order
Saudi media on 6 Jan had reported the princes arrested after gathering outside Qasr al-Hokm, a historical palace in Riyadh, in protest against a government decision to stop paying the water and electricity bills of royals.
They were also demanding compensation for a death sentence issued against one of their cousins, convicted of murder and executed in 2016, attorney general Saud al-Mojeb said.
"Despite being informed that their demands are not lawful, the 11 princes refused to leave the area, disrupting public peace and order," Mojeb said in a statement issued by the information ministry. "Following their arrest, they have been charged on a number of counts in relation to these offences".
The 11 are being held at the maximum security Al-Hayer prison, south of Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia has introduced a string of austerity measures over the past two years to boost revenues and cut spending as the global slump in oil prices led to ballooning budget deficits.
