Prisoners riot in Saudi city

By Middle East correspondent Frank Gardner

A prison riot that reportedly broke out in Saudi Arabia on Thursday night has left a guard and several inmates injured, according to witnesses.

Residents in the northern Saudi city of Al Jawf have reported that prisoners took over a prison housing 400 convicts in protest over conditions.

But by Friday special police units were reported to be in control of the prison.

It was the second security incident in the country in as many days, following an armed attack on a residential compound housing Western expatriates.

The two incidents are not thought to be related but in a country where severe punishments keep crime to a minimum, such public disorder is unusual.

Meeting demand

The prisoners in Al Jawf reportedly took over the local jail on Thursday night to protest against the prison director, poor food and the lack of newspapers.

The prisoners reportedly attacked a guard, set fire to mattresses and demanded to meet the local governor, Prince Abdel Ilah Bin Abdelaziz.

The prince reportedly sent a representative to meet them, while special police units flew to Al Jawf to take control of the prison.

It is not known whether any of the prisoners' demands were met but witnesses said several of those injured in the riot have been evacuated to a hospital.

The Saudi authorities are highly sensitive about their judicial system after two recent critical reports by the London-based human rights group Amnesty International.

The group attacked the conservative desert kingdom for what it called its lack of a fair and impartial judicial system.

The Saudi Government has vigorously defended its track record, inviting the United Nations to send an investigator to visit the kingdom's prisons.