Saudi Arabia arrests Shiite writer after protests

Saudi authorities have arrested a Shiite Muslim intellectual in the oil-producing eastern province where minority Shi'ites have staged protests in the strict Sunni kingdom, human rights activists said on Tuesday.

Security forces arrested al-Saeed al-Majid, a Shi'ite writer, on Sunday at his workplace in Khobar on the Gulf coast, the independent Human Rights First Society said in a statement. Shi'ite website Rasid.com confirmed the arrest. (Reuters)