Timeline of the 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests (May–December 2011)
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The following is a timeline of the 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests from May to December 2011. 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.
In May and June, motivated by the Arab Spring,[36] Manal al-Sharif and other women organised a women's right-to-drive campaign, with the main action to take place on 17 June. Al-Sharif drove a car in May and was detained on 22 May and from 23‒30 May.[3][37][38] Other women also drove cars, including actress Wajnat Rahbini, who was arrested after driving in Jeddah on 4 June and released a day later.[39] From 17 June to late June, about seventy cases of women driving were documented.[40][41][42] In late September, Shaima Jastania was sentenced to 10 lashes for driving in Jeddah, shortly after King Abdullah announced women's participation in the 2015 municipal elections and eligibility as Consultative Assembly members. King Abdullah cancelled the sentence.[43][44]
Protests in the Qatif region continued in October; police shot live ammunition at protestors.[14] The protestors called for Eastern Province to have its own constitution and legislative assembly, and for their association Society for Development and Change to be legally registered.[14] In late November, Nasser al-Mheishi, Ali al-Felfel, Munib al-Sayyed al-'Adnan and Ali Abdullah al-Qarairis were shot dead by security forces in the Qatif region in successive protests and funerals.[45][46][47][48]
Hundreds of people protested in Riyadh and Buraidah in December, calling for the release or trial of prisoners.[48]