Timeline of the 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests (January–June 2012)
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The following is a timeline of the 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests from January to June 2012. The 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests are a series of ongoing protests taking place in Saudi Arabia, which began in January 2011, influenced by concurrent protests in the region.
A protest for labour rights took place in Riyadh on 14 January[36] and a sit-in calling for the Syrian Ambassador to be expelled occurred on 5 February in Jeddah.[37]
Protests in the Qatif region continued from January to May, with security forces arresting medical personnel.[38] Security forces shot dead Issam Mohamed Abu Abdallah in al-Awamiyah on 12[39] or 13 January,[40] Munir al-Midani[41] and Zuhair al-Said[42][43] on 9 and 10 February. In the 70,000 strong funeral for Abdallah on 16 January in al-Awamiyah and the daily Qatif region protests that followed, protestors chanted slogans against the House of Saud and Minister of Interior, Nayef, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.[44][45] In mid-February, two medical personnel were arrested for having clandestinely treated injured protestors.[38] In a 10 February protest and a 13 February funeral, an effigy of Nayef was thrown at tanks and participants described Nayef as a "terrorist", "criminal" and "butcher".[46] Police described two of the fatal shootings as responses to unidentified gunmen who had shot first.[42][47]
Manal al-Sharif and Samar Badawi, active in the women to drive movement, announced that they had filed lawsuits against Saudi authorities in the Grievances Board, a non-Sharia court,[48] because of the rejection of their driving licence applications.[49] As of the end of June 2012, 100 Saudi women had started driving regularly since the June 2011 campaign launch.[50] Women university students protested in King Khalid University in Abha in March[51] and were attacked by security forces, leading to one death.[52] Other university protests followed in Taibah University in Medina[53] and Tabuk University in March and April.[54][55]