Saudi opposition calls for minister to be tried

RIYADH, May 5 (Reuters) Opposition figures in Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy with little tolerance for dissent, have issued a public call for Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz to face trial for suspected rights abuses.

A letter sent to King Abdullah late last month and made public this week accuses the prince, one of the most powerful Saudi royals, of creating a ''culture of fear'' and a ''police state'' that prevents political reforms.

There is almost no chance of the minister facing legal action, but the unusual call reflects growing disillusion with slow progress on promised reforms.

Saudi Arabia is ruled by the Saudi royal family according to an austere version of Sunni Islam. King Abdullah, a half-brother of Prince Nayef who came to power in 2005, is seen as a supporter of gradual reforms.

The letter accused the interior ministry of relying solely on security measures to tackle militant violence by al Qaeda sympathisers, and ''supporting a distorted religious discourse that hurts citizenship, pluralism and tolerance''.

''We ask for the issue of human rights to be opened (for debate) and the prosecution of the interior minister,'' it said, listing a series of alleged abuses. ''We ask for these accusations to be heard in an open court.'' An interior ministry spokesman had no comment on the letter.

The statement was signed by four reform activists, describing themselves as moderate Islamists, who were among around 100 signatories on a petition earlier this year calling for an elected parliament.

Several of those signatories were detained in February on suspicion of ''funding terrorism''. The authorities have said there is no link between their arrest and the reform petition.

Reuter5s SG VV1503