IN RECENT WEEKS SAUDI ARABIA HAS LAUNCHED AN OFFENSIVE AGAINST ANTI-REGIME ACTIVISTS ARRESTING MANY AND SENTENCING SOME TO YEARS IN JAIL. TOTAL NUMBER OF POLITICAL PRISONERS HAS NOW SURPASSED 40 THOUSAND ACCORDING TO SOME REPORTS. THE CRACKDOWN HAS EVEN FORCED A MEMBER OF THE RULING FAMILY TO DEFECT. RT ARABIC SPOKE EXCLUSIVELY TO SAUDI PRINCE KHALED BIN FARHAN AL-SAUD – WHO ACCUSES THE MONARCHY OF CORRUPTION AND SILENCING ALL VOICES OF DISSENT.
——————–

“Saudi Arabia cracks down on peaceful dissent [inside its own counry] while preaching democracy in region” – heading of Lindsay France’s portion of report/video below – and while the Saudi dictatorship sends weapons to groups trying to violently overthrow the Syrian government while the brutal Saudi regime which sentences people to years in jail and hundreds of lashes of the whip for merely speaking out peacefully – states how concerned it is about human rights – elsewhere
——————–

Prince Khalid Bin Farhan Al-Saud

EXCLUSIVE:

“Saudi prince defects: ‘Brutality, oppression as govt scared of Arab
revolts’ (EXCLUSIVE)”

First Published on Aug 12, 2013 [Video url at bottom]

In recent weeks Saudi Arabia has launched an offensive against
anti-regime activists, arresting many and sentencing some to  years in
jails. The total number of political prisoners has now surpassed
40,000 according to some reports.

The crackdown has even forced a member of the ruling family to
defect. RT Arabic spoke exclusively to Saudi prince Khaled Bin Farhan
Al-Saud, who accuses the monarchy of corruption, and [of] silencing
all voices of dissent

Khaled Bin Farhan Al-Saud: “The [Saudi] government is obviously scared of the
Arab revolutions, and they’ve responded as they usually do: by
resorting to oppression, violence, arbitrary law, and arrest. The
easiest thing they can do, is deprive you of your salary, or fire you
altogether.

“The ruling regime is not guided by justice, and this is especially
true of the Ministry of Interior. There is no independent judiciary,
as both police, and the prosecutor’s office, are accountable to the
Interior Ministry.

“The Ministry’s officials investigate “crimes” – they call them
“crimes – related to freedom of speech, so they fabricate evidence,
don’t allow people to have attorneys – things like that happen all over
the place: they even put people under arrest for an indefinite amount
of time.

“The Ministry’s officials investigate “crimes” – they call them
“crimes – related to freedom of speech, so they fabricate evidence,
don’t allow people to have attorneys – things like that happen all over
the place: they even put people under arrest for an indefinite amount
of time

“Even if a Court rules to release such a ‘criminal,’ the Ministry of
Interior keeps him in prison, even though there’s a court order to release
him. There have even been killings –killings! — and as for the
external opposition, Saudi intelligence forces find these people
abroad: there’s no safety inside or outside the country.”

RT Arabic: “Could you describe these people, who oppose the [Saudi
monarchy]? What are their goals?”

KBF: “Opposition used to demand wider people’s representation in
governing bodies, more rights, and freedoms, but the authorities
reacted with violence and persecution, instead of a dialogue [so] now
the opposition wants this regime gone.”

RT Arabic: “We both know that despite numerous human rights violations
in Saudi Arabia, your country seldom faces criticism from the West,
and from the United States in particular. When senior U.S. officials
meet with their Saudi counterparts, do you think they convey any
critical comments form Washington vis a vis Riyadh?”

KBF: “The White House certainly maintains a long-standing alliance with the
leaders of Saudi Arabia, cemented by common interests in the middle
east. To that end, there are classified contacts between Riyadh and
the U.S. administration. In recent times, they’ve been employed to
step up the government-administered reforms, but those reforms are not
driven by the elite’s desire to empower the people of the
[Saudi-family ruled] Kingdom, instead they] are merely urged by reforms
that the regime might fall unless it reforms itself.

“Oppression is widespread in Saudi Arabia: there is no free speech, no
freedom of expression, corruption is rampant in all areas. From
low-level bureaucrats to high-ranking officials, every civil servant
is very skillful at using bribes in their operations.”

——————–
“U.S. won’t criticize monarchy no matter what” [quoted in on-screen
text from wider interview]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVR7ippQk48

‘Rampant injustice rules Saudi Arabia’ – prince defector (FULL VIDEO,
EXCLUSIVE)
——————–

RT: Well the  Saudi regime’s crack-down remains largely ignored by the
international community, leaving it free to advise other regional
powers on how to move towards democracy. RT’s Lindsey France takes a
look at the country’s own dire record at dealing with its internal
democrats.

Lindsay France: “As Saudi Arabia violently squashes the voice of any
opposition, we see it sitting front and center in discussions of the
democratic transition of power within other countries, such as
Syria. On the one hand it reportedly ships arms to the [rebel groups
trying to militarily overthrow] Syria, on the other hand, *peaceful*
opposition in Saudi Arabia is answered with prison sentences, torture,
even death for people who voice their own opinion.

“In fact, in October 2012, Amnesty International called on the Saudi
authorities to stop using excessive force against pro-democracy
protesters. Here are just a few examples from this year alone:

* On June 17, 2013 Mikhlifi Al-Shammari, convicted of “sowing discord”
  and other offenses through writing an [his] exposure of human rights
  abuses. He was sentenced to five (5) years in prison.

* Website editor Raif Badawi was convicted of “insulting Islam and
  authorities” via social media (his website and media interviews) He
  was sentenced to 7 years in prison and six-hundred (600) lashes.

LF: “In these conditions, anyone with something substantial to say
about the government, society, or religion, wouldn’t be blamed for
keeping a low profile, and this is where the man called the “Saudi
Assange” comes in

No one knowns who he is, what he looks like, or where he lives. His
prolific tweets denouncing the ruling family as corrupt, and enriching
themselves from government coffers have earned him over a million
followers [on twitter]

——————–
“Saudi Arabia cracks down on dissent while preaching democracy in
region” – heading of Lindsay France’s portion of video
——————–

He is known only as @mujtahidd. I spoke to him over Google Chat to
find out why he stays in hiding because it’s not for safety. I asked
him why he remains anonymous.

He said ‘Ironically…anonymity boosts my credibility and encourages
people to follow me and talk about my stories without worry’

I asked if this meant people could pay less attention to his biography
and more attention to his message. He pointed out ‘the regime can
destroy your credibility easily and deter people from dealing with
you if your identity is public’”

While mujtahidd is forced underground a new monarchy-backed religious
diversity center has launched its own charm offensive in
Vienna. According to its Mission Statement, it encourages dialogue
among followers of different religions and cultures.

King Abdullah has also announced a donation of 100 million
($100,000,000) to set up a United Nations Center for fighting
terrorism. One of its four pillars is to prevent conditions [like
brutal human rights abusing dictatorship "Monarchies"?] conducive
to the spread of terrorism, and “ensuring respect for human rights”

So while the King’s clerics preach a hard-line form of Islam that
often becomes a breeding ground for extremism, Saudi Arabia is
assuming a moral high ground in advising other nations in advising
other nations in transitional democracy.

Summary/Transcription from RT’s report At http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-DsLo3Dwcw
Saudi prince defects: ‘Brutality, oppression as govt scared of Arab
revolts’ (EXCLUSIVE)