Saudi rights group: Put interior minister on trial

Cairo: A Saudi human rights group has asked King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz to fire the kingdom's powerful interior minister Prince Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz and prosecute him for what it says are systematic human rights violations in the country.

In an unprecedented move, the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association sent a letter to the king saying the Interior Ministry's policies are a fundamental force driving local and global violence and extremism.

A copy of the letter, e-mailed to the AP in Cairo on Friday, said the ministry has robbed the people of their rights and grown less tolerant of those who resist injustice, tyranny and corruption.

The group is unlicensed but allowed to function to show the kingdom's interest in human rights.

Nayef is the ailing king's half brother, and is second-in-line for the throne.