RIYADH, Aug 18: Ninety-five Saudis, including 12 women, have submitted a petition to Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, urging release of three Saudi reformists jailed for advocating a constitutional monarchy.

After a spate of petitions by different groups to the Saudi leadership until the beginning of the year, the three were taken into custody, along with others. Ever since, there was no report of any further petition being submitted to the Saudi government. Hence this petition to release the three incarcerated Saudis has come after some break.

The signatories, from the Al Jouf region, 350 kilometres east of Riyadh, are protesting the detention of Ali al Demaini, Matruk al Faleh and Abdullah al Hamed. "Everything that Faleh, and those with him, have undertaken is peaceful and in harmony with the reformist direction of the Saudi leadership," the signatories said in their petition.

"We ask for the release of Faleh and the two other reformists or else assurances of a public and fair trial," added the signatories from 22 families in the region. The trial of the three accused behind bars opened in Riyadh on Aug 9. They were then formally accused of calling for the kingdom to become a constitutional monarchy and of questioning the independence of its judicial system.

The three, who have been detained for nearly five months, were among about a dozen of activists arrested on March 16, half of whom were released within a couple of days after pledging not to publicly lobby for reform.

Three others were freed at the end of March. Two of them said they had not promised to cease their pro-reform activities, although they agreed to channel their demands solely to Saudi authorities.

Many of the activists who were detained were signatories to a petition demanding Saudi Arabia become a constitutional monarchy. Demaini, however, did not sign this petition. Demaini, Hamed and Faleh, a lecturer at the King Saud University, and also from Al-Jouf, are being tried after the failure of attempts by lawyers to hammer out a compromise.