While the world's attention focused on the turmoil in other places in the Middle East , Saudi Arabia in 2013 secretly more incentive to repress dissidents in 2013 .
Saudi government crackdown carried out by silencing democracy activists and human rights defenders to catch , prosecute and intimidate them . According to these reformers is one of the worst years in their jobs in the Gulf states that a strong U.S. ally .
Oppression that reflects a very fragile time being traversed the country the world 's largest producer of oil .
The Saudi monarch was to modernize its economy to reduce dependence on oil revenues , the private sector creates more diverse , and open jobs for residents who continue to fret .
To manage the transition , the activists say Saudi Arabia manipulate society classes , plays tribal and divisive sentiments which tend to be liberal citizens and the ultra - conservative Wahhabi clerics who usually support the royal family .
In order to direct the flow of this transition , Saudi Arabia to silence demands for political reform for fear of upheaval such as the Arab Awakening that could destabilize their grip on power .
This year , at least nine prominent reformers were sentenced to lengthy prison for allegedly " disloyal to the king . " A well-known human rights lawyer was forced to leave the country for fear of arrest .
One of the leading human rights organizations there , namely HASEM been closed . A tough anti-terror law was passed the government , and incorporate vague things like " damage the reputation of the state " as a terrorist act .
More than 200 demonstrators , including women and children , were arrested in Buraydah in the north of the capital , Riyadh , as they demand the release of jailed relatives . A Saudi man this week was sentenced to 30 years in prison for leading demonstrations by minority Shi'ites who complain of discrimination and .
At least five women were detained for several hours for violating driving ban , and a Saudi writer who support them detained for nearly two weeks .
Abdulaziz Alhussan , human rights lawyer who fled to America , warned that the Saudi royal ignore demands for reform then it can rise and disturb the stability of the country .
" If we wait seven to 10 years from now , we will be in a worse situation than Egypt and Syria , " he told the AP news agency . ( VOA )
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