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Riyadh: King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia on Tuesday ordered the release of most of those jailed after a riot by minority Ismaili Muslims in 2000, state media said.
The monarch ordered the release of those jailed over the disturbances in the southern city of Najran, except anyone convicted of armed rebellion or killings whose sentence would be reduced, the news reports said.
At least 77 people were jailed over violent clashes after police closed a mosque belonging to Ismailis, members of an offshoot of the Shiite sect.
The late King Fahd in 2002 spared the lives of 17 Ismailis sentenced to death for taking part in the riot.
Shiite minorities in Najran in the far south bordering Yemen, and Eastern Province often complain of marginalisation by the authorities.
Ali Al Hattab, of the independent Saudi-based Human Rights First Society, said Tuesday's amnesty included an Ismaili convicted of insulting the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) in 1990.
He said at least two other Ismailis, including a journalist, remained in jail on similar convictions.
"Even the terrorists have been freed and allowed out on family visits," he said, referring to hundreds arrested for links to militants. "The Ismailis who were jailed were reacting to years of oppression and discrimination."
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