Timeline of the 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests (May–December 2011)

The following is a timeline of the 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests from January to April 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. Protests started with a 65-year-old man's self-immolation in Samtah, Jizan on 21 January and protests of a few hundred people in late January in Jeddah and several times throughout February and early March in the cities of Qatif, al-Awamiyah, Riyadh, and Hofuf. A "Day of Rage" was planned for 11 March. One of the main organisers, Faisal Ahmed Abdul-Ahad (or Abdul-Ahadwas), was alleged to have been killed by Saudi security forces on 2 March, by which time one of the Facebook groups discussing the plans had over 26,000 members. On 11 March, several hundred people protested in Qatif, Hofuf and al-Amawiyah. Khaled al-Johani demonstrated in Riyadh despite a massive police presence, was interviewed by BBC Arabic Television, and has since then been detained in ʽUlaysha Prison. Al-Johani became known online as "the only brave man in Saudi Arabia".The Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) and the Saudi organisation Human Rights First Society called for ACPRA co-founder Mohammed Saleh Albejadi to be released following his arbitrary arrest in Buraidah on 21 March by Mabahith, the internal security agency. In April, several small protests over labour rights took place in front of government ministry buildings in Riyadh, Ta'if and Tabuk. Protests, made up mainly of Shia protesters, continued in late March and April in Qatif and smaller cities in the Eastern Province such as al-Awamiyah, and Hofuf. The protesters called for the release of prisoners, for the Peninsula Shield Force to be withdrawn from Bahrain, for equal representation in key offices and for reforms in political positions, as they feel marginalised.In response to the 22–23 March announcement of men-only municipal elections in late September 2011 to elect half the members of local councils, women organised a Facebook women's suffrage campaign called "Baladi", stating that Saudi Arabian law gives women electoral rights. In April, women in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam tried to register as electors for the 22 September municipal elections despite officials stating that women could not participate.

The protests in Saudi Arabia were part of the Arab Spring that started with the 2011 Tunisian revolution. Protests started with a self-immolation in Samtah and Jeddah street protests in late January 2011. Protests against anti-Shia discrimination followed in February and early March in Qatif, Hofuf, al-Awamiyah, and Riyadh. A Facebook organiser of a planned 11 March "Day of Rage", Faisal Ahmed Abdul-Ahad, was allegedly killed by Saudi security forces on 2 March, with several hundred people protesting in Qatif, Hofuf and al-Amawiyah on the day itself. Khaled al-Johani demonstrated alone in Riyadh, was interviewed by BBC Arabic Television, was detained in ʽUlaysha Prison, and became known online as "the only brave man in Saudi Arabia". Many protests over human rights took place in April 2011 in front of government ministry buildings in Riyadh, Ta'if and Tabuk and in January 2012 in Riyadh. In 2011, Nimr al-Nimr encouraged his supporters in nonviolent resistance.Anti-government protests demanding release of prisoners held without charge or trial continued in April and May 2011 in Qatif, al-Awamiyah and Hofuf in the Eastern Province, and extended to calls for the Peninsula Shield Force to be withdrawn from Bahrain and for the Eastern Province to have a constitution and a legislature. Four protesters were shot dead by Saudi authorities in late November in Qatif region protests and funerals, two on 2012 January 13 and two on 9 and 10 February 2012. In the early 2012 demonstrations, protesters chanted slogans against the House of Saud and Minister of Interior, Nayef, calling Nayef a "terrorist", "criminal" and "butcher" and throwing an effigy of Nayef at tanks. Police described two of the fatal shootings as responses to unidentified gunmen who had shot first. Eastern Province protests intensified after Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr was wounded in the leg and arrested by police on 8 July. Four men were killed in a protest immediately following the arrest, with several funerals and protests following, including calls for the downfall of the House of Saud. While detained, al-Nimr was tortured and started a hunger strike, he was later executed in the 2016 mass execution. Protest organisers insisted on the use of nonviolent resistance and called for all Shia and Sunni detainees to be freed. A protester and a soldier were fatally shot in Qatif during a 3–4 August protest, leading to more protests.Protests and sit-ins calling for political prisoners to be released spread beyond the Eastern Province to protests at the Ministry of Interior in Riyadh on 20 March and in Riyadh and Buraidah in December 2011, and in July and August 2012 near al-Ha'ir Prison.Women organised a Facebook women's suffrage campaign called "Baladi", stating that Saudi Arabian law gives women electoral rights. In April 2011, women in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam tried to register as electors for the 29 September municipal elections despite officials stating that women could not participate. In May and June, Manal al-Sharif and other women organised a women's right-to-drive campaign, with the main action to take place on 17 June. 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 overturned the sentence. Al-Sharif and Samar Badawi filed lawsuits against Saudi authorities in the Grievances Board, a non-Sharia court, because of the rejection of their driving licence applications. Women university students protested in King Khalid University (KKU) in Abha in March 2012 and were attacked by security forces, leading to one death. Other university protests followed in Taibah University in Medina and Tabuk University in March and April. KKU students called for the university president to be dismissed. He was replaced on 1 July 2012.

The following is a timeline of the 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests since July 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. In July 2012, Amnesty International protested in the United Nations Human Rights Council against legal persecution of Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) leaders. Protests calling for prisoners to be freed and protesting against the Saudi government occurred in Buraidah on 23 July and in front of the Ministry of Interior in Riyadh on 25 July, in Riyadh and Mecca on 28 July, in Ta'if, in Buraidah, near al-Ha'ir Prison and in Dammam in August. In July and August 2012, protests in the Qatif region intensified after Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr was wounded in the leg and arrested by police on 8 July. Three men were killed in a protest on the evening of the arrest. Funerals and protests took place on 10 July, 11 July and 13 July, including chants calling for the downfall of the House of Saud. Another protester was shot dead in the 13 July al-Awamiyah protest. While detained, al-Nimr was tortured, had bruises on his face and broken teeth, and started a hunger strike. Protest organisers in al-Awamiyah stated their support for al-Nimr and insisted on the use of nonviolent resistance. Protester Mohamed al-Shakhouri was shot in the back and neck and arrested in a 26–27 July protest calling for al-Nimr's release. Further protests called for all Shia and Sunni detainees to be freed, including al-Shakhouri. A protester and a soldier were fatally shot in Qatif during a 3–4 August evening human rights protest, leading to several more protests.

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 and a sit-in calling for the Syrian Ambassador to be expelled occurred on 5 February in Jeddah.Protests in the Qatif region continued from January to May, with security forces arresting medical personnel. Security forces shot dead Issam Mohamed Abu Abdallah in al-Awamiyah on 12 or 13 January, Munir al-Midani and Zuhair al-Said 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. In mid-February, two medical personnel were arrested for having clandestinely treated injured protestors. 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". Police described two of the fatal shootings as responses to unidentified gunmen who had shot first.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, because of the rejection of their driving licence applications. As of the end of June 2012, 100 Saudi women had started driving regularly since the June 2011 campaign launch. Women university students protested in King Khalid University in Abha in March and were attacked by security forces, leading to one death. Other university protests followed in Taibah University in Medina and Tabuk University in March and April.

Al-Faruq (Arabic: الفاروق, lit. 'the distinguisher') is a neighborhood in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, located north of al-Faisaliah and south of al-Safa in the sub-municipality of al-Malaz. It is named after al-Farooq. The district contains the Rimal Center, IKEA and Panda outlets.

Al-Faisaliyyah (Arabic: حي الفيصلية, romanized: ḥaī al-Faīṣalīyah), locally al-Ghalah (Arabic: الغالة) and pejoratively as al-Mamnūʿāt (Arabic: الممنوعات; lit. no-go zone), is a shanty neighborhood and a subject of Baladiyah al-Batha in south-east Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, inhabited mainly by lower-class Afro-Arabs besides having significant presence of Yemenis, Indians, Filipinos and Bangladeshis. Bordered by Southern Ring Road to the south and Eastern Ring Road to the east, it shares proximity with as-Sinaiyah and al-Khalidiyyah neighborhoods to the west and al-Faruq neighborhood to the north.

Riyadh railway station is the main railway station in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.It is located in the Sinaiyah Qadeem district, and is the western terminus of the Dammam–Riyadh Line. The station was designed by Italian architect Lucio Barbera in 1978 and was opened for public service in 1981. The station's design was inspired by the architecture of some mosques along the Mediterranean Sea. The building comprises the main lobby from which extends two wings. The wings, enclose the railway platforms. The roof is made from prefabricated, pre-stressed beams. The exterior is clad in local limestone. The style and decoration of the building use elements such as triangular openings to construct windows, arcades and parapets with rectangular steps, elements bearing a resemblance to Nejd architecture but also common in other Arab architecture. The station includes a main concourse, ticket area, and platform area.The stations in Riyadh, Dammam, and Hofuf were all designed by Lucio Barbera and share similar design.

Al-Yasmin International School (AYIS) (Arabic: مدرسة الیاسمین العالمية‎, romanized: Madrasah al-Yāsmīn al-ʿĀlamīyah; Malayalam: അൽ യാസ്മിൻ ഇന്റർനാഷണൽ സ്‌കൂൾ, romanized: al-Yāsmin Inṟarnāṣaṇal Skūḷ) is a K–12 gender-isolated English-medium community-based foreign school in the al-Malazz neighborhood of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Established in 1999, the school offers Indian curriculum prescribed by the Central Board of Secondary Education and primarily serves the Indian diaspora. Founded in 1999 by Indian politician and businessman PV Abdul Wahab, it offers Indian curriculum prescribed by the Central Board of Secondary Education and is a member of the CBSE Gulf Sahodaya. It is approved by the Ministry of Education, Government of Saudi Arabia and is one of three schools in the country affiliated with the Peevees Group of Schools, other being the Jeddah-based New Al-Wurood International School and Dammam-based Al-Khozama International School.

Al-Khalidiyyah (Arabic: حي الخالدية, romanized: ḥaī al-Khālidīyah), is a low-income residential neighborhood in southeastern Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, located south of as-Sinaiyah and west of al-Faisaliyyah in the sub-municipality of al-Batʼha. It emerged as an offshoot of Hillat al-Anouz (Arabic: حلة العنوز, lit. 'quarter of Anizah') and was renamed in the 1980s after King Khalid bin Abdulaziz. It is today inhabited mostly by overseas Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Yemeni migrant workers and their families.The area was previously inhabited by Arabs who mostly belonged to the Anizah tribe, and thus, was named Hillat al-Anouz.Covering an area of 950 acres, it is bordered between Ali Ibn Abi Talib Road to the east, Al Kharj Road to the west and Southern Ring Road to the south. The locality is also known for serving several schools and health centers for nearby districts besides being unpopular among residents for its seasonal power outages. The al-Khalidiya Park is also located in the southernmost extreme of the neighborhood. Since the late 1980s, the High Commission for the Development of Riyadh has implemented a series of projects in the neighborhood in order to reduce the groundwater levels.

Sheikh Sulaiman Al-Rajhi Mosque (Arabic: جامع الشيخ سليمان الراجحي), simply known as Al-Rajhi Mosque (Arabic: جامع الراجحي), is a congregational mosque and an active place of worship in the al-Jazirah neighborhood of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Inaugurated in 2004, it is the largest mosque in Riyadh and one of the most popular landmarks of the city besides being considered among the largest mosques in Saudi Arabia and the Arab world. It is named after the Saudi businessman and billionaire Sulaiman bin Abdulaziz al-Rajhi, who primarily funded the mosque's construction.

Prince Faisal bin Fahd Sports City (Arabic: مدينة الأمير فيصل بن فهد الرياضية) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, designed by architect Michael KC Cheah. It is currently used mostly for football matches. Named after Prince Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, the stadium has a capacity of 22,500 people. Al-Hilal, Al Nassr and Al-Shabab play their matches in this stadium. In 1972, it hosted the opening ceremony for the Arabian Gulf Cup. In the 2011–2012 it became one of the first stadiums in the Kingdom to use electronic ticketing for the Saudi Football League.

The Female Student Study Center – Al Malaz Branch (Arabic: مركز دراسة الطالبات – فرع الملز, romanized: Markaz Dirāsah aṭ-Ṭālibāt – Farʿ al-Malaz) was one of the three women-only satellite campuses of Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in al-Malazz, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, active from 1984 to 2012.Established in 1984, the campus offered courses at undergraduate, postgraduate and doctorate levels in fields such as computer science, Islamic law, social science, human resource management and natural science. The students and faculty were relocated to the newly built King Abdullah City for Female Students in 2012 and thus, disbanding the campus.