Wave Of Executions In Saudi Arabia

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28541, 21 March 1958, Page 11

Wave Of Executions In Saudi Arabia

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 9 p.m.) CAIRO, March 19. A wave of executions and arrests since early March and widespread opposition to King Saud’s rule were reported today by sources in close touch with Saudi Arabia, according to the American Associated Press. The agency said that these reports, from usually reliable sources, were impossible to check accurately and the Saudi Government held a tight hand on all communications. The Egyptian Government had launched a propaganda campaign against King Saud and doubtless was circulating rumours putting the Saudi situation in the worst possible light, the agency commented.

The American Associated Press said that viewed through the Egyptian propaganda haze, the situation looked like this: An underground movement called the “Free Saudis'* was operating in Saudi Arabia with a base in Syria. An undetermined number of arrests and executions of these

“Free Saudis” took place early in March, even before President Nasser started his campaign against King Saud. King Saud's brother, Emir Feisal, the Premier, who has a pro-Nasser reputation, was sulking in his tent in the desert near Riyadh, refusing to meet the King.

The agency said that it was difficult to tell how serious the King's position was. i Normally, the Saudi Arabian rulers could nold power merely by paying adequate subsidies to various tribal leaders and important families in the country. The real danger would probably come from inside the Royal Family itself.