The demonstrators chanted slogans, condemning the Al Saud regime’s suppressive actions against dissidents, and censured the excessive use of force by Saudi troops in quelling anti-regime protests.
According to Human Rights Watch, the Saudi regime “routinely represses voices critical of the government.”
Meanwhile, Saudi activists say most of the detained political thinkers are being held by the regime without trial or legitimate charges and that they were arrested for merely looking suspicious.
In October, Saudi authorities warned that they would deal "firmly" with protests after hundreds of Saudis gathered outside Tafiya prison, north of the capital, in September to demand the release of their relatives.
Amnesty International has criticized Riyadh over the warning and urged the authorities to "withdraw their threat." In Saudi Arabia, protests and political gatherings of any kind are prohibited.
Since February 2011, protesters have held demonstrations on an almost regular basis in Saudi Arabia, mainly in Qatif and Awamiyah in Eastern Province.
The demonstrations turned into protests against the Al Saud regime after November 2011 when Saudi security forces killed five protesters and injured many others in the province.