Security forces opened fire on a demonstration in Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich east, fatally wounding one Shiite protester and injuring several others, activists and witnesses said on Friday. “Munir al-Medani, 21, was wounded by a live bullet in his chest” one activist said requesting anonymity, referring to the incident which took place late Thursday in Qatif province in the kingdom’s Eastern Region.
“He was taken to the hospital where he later died of his wounds.” A number of other protesters were wounded in the shooting, the activists and witnesses said. The protest, which began as a procession to mark the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed — a celebration forbidden in ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia — turned into a demonstration calling for reforms and for the release of Shiite detainees, the same sources said. Witnesses said that the attack prompted groups of young protesters to set car tyres on fire as the police set up checkpoints across the province.
There was no immediate official confirmation of the incident. Medani’s reported death raises to six the number of protesters killed since demonstrations erupted in the Eastern Region last March when Shiites took to the streets to condemn Saudi military intervention against Shiite-led pro-democracy demonstrations in neighbouring Bahrain.
