Saudi protesters face trial

The protesters fled when the police moved in to disperse them

Saudi Arabia has said 83 people arrested for protesting in Riyadh earlier this month will appear in court.

The detainees were among 271 people rounded up following the 14 October demonstration, the Saudi Press Agency quoted an Interior Ministry official as saying.

The other 188 were released after it was concluded they were just bystanders, the official said.

The public protest calling for political reform in the staunchly conservative kingdom was timed to coincide with a human rights conference that opened in Riyadh a day earlier. It was the first such forum to be held in Saudi Arabia.

Demonstrations are extremely rare in the desert kingdom, where opposition political movements are banned.

Demonstrations banned

The Saudi Interior Ministry said the 83 detainees were being questioned "and will be handed over to the Sharia (Islamic Law)".

The defendants apparently defied a ban on demonstrations.

"This group does not reflect the reality of Saudi society and their actions do not conform with our Islamic values," the unnamed Interior Ministry official said.

Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef said such acts would not go unpunished.

Some dissidents have called for nationwide protests on Thursday.

Demonstrations are almost unheard of in Saudi Arabia, which practices a puritanical form of Islam.

It is not known what charges the group might face.