Two US citizens among 9 held in Saudi crackdown

BEIRUT: Brushing back pressure from Washington, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia escalated his crackdown on even the mildest forms of dissent with arrests this week of at least nine intellectuals, journalists, activists and their family members, according to rights groups.

Among those held are two dual Saudi-American citizens and two women — one of them pregnant, the groups said.

Almost all those arrested are connected to a group of women’s rights activists who have been detained since last spring. They have been charged with acting as foreign agents and working to undermine the kingdom’s security.