Two Saudi reformists released

Two Saudi reformists were released on Monday after 13 days in detention without pledging to cease their pro-reform activities, both men told AFP.
"Sheikh Suleiman al-Rushoodi and myself were released in Riyadh after being interrogated" and cleared of any charges, said Tewfik al-Qussayer, a professor of electronic engineering at the capital's King Saud University.
"We did not undertake not to issue statements demanding reform. But we were told that such petitions should be addressed only to the leadership, and since our goal is to achieve reforms, we said we had no problem with this," he said.
"We still call for reform, for a constitution and for the separation of powers - that is (turning Saudi Arabia into) a constitutional monarchy compatible with our circumstances and Islamic sharia (law)," said Rushoodi, a lawyer and former supreme court judge.
"We did not pledge not to issue statements, but we undertook to co-ordinate with the leadership ... and address our demands to the leadership only," rather than issue petitions also addressed to the public, Rushoodi told AFP.
A December petition signed by both men and more than 100 other activists that called for turning Saudi Arabia into a constitutional monarchy was titled "Statement to the leadership and the people," Qussayer explained.
"We feel the leadership shares our view about the need for reform," said Rushoodi, expressing hope that the four activists still in detention would be freed within days.
About a dozen activists were arrested on March 16, half of whom were freed within a couple of days after pledging to no longer publicly lobby for reform.
The four who remain in detention are Mohammed Saeed Tayyeb, Ali al-Demaini, Matruk al-Faleh and Abdullah al-Hamed. Like the pair released Monday, they have refused to give written undertakings to desist from public pro-reform activities.