Saudis Bust an Unusual Sit-In: Princes Mad Over Yanked Perks

A group of 11 Saudi princes is apparently mad as hell over slashed perks and not going to take it anymore. Or rather, as CNN reports, they're going to take it from the comfort of a Riyadh prison. How it went down: A recent royal decree, stemming from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's ongoing crackdown on corruption, "halted payments by the state to members of the royal family to cover their electricity and water utility bills," per a statement by the Saudi attorney general released Saturday. This upset the princes, who staged a sit-in at a Riyadh palace on Thursday. They also wanted to be compensated by the government over the 2016 execution of a cousin who had been convicted of murder.

After they refused to leave, authorities threw them in the maximum-security Al-Hayer prison for "disrupting public peace and order," adds the Washington Post, where they now sit awaiting trial. "No one is above the law in Saudi Arabia. Everyone is equal and is treated the same as others," says the AG. None of those detained have been named. (After a wave of royal arrests in November, Saudi Arabia demanded a breathtaking amount for one prince's freedom.)