A Saudi law professor was arrested on Sunday after writing a article that discussed possible rifts within the royal family, and their political implications for the kingdom.

Dr Mohammed bin Abdullah al-Abdulkarim, who teaches jurisprudence at the Imam Mohammed bin Saud University, was 
seized from his home by four men. 

The Saudi Human Rights First Society says his detention is illegal, since he was arrested without a warrant and has been held for more than 24 hours without charge. His arrest has not been reported in the mainstream Saudi media, though it is being reported and discussed on the internet.

Dr Abdulkarim's article (in Arabic) appeared on the royaah.net website on November 23. The article was published shortly after 86-year-old King Abdullah travelled to the United States for an operation on his back. His is still there, and has since had a second operation after a blood clot was found.

In the meantime, the kingdom is being run by Crown Prince Sultan. Sultan, who is also in his mid-eighties, returned to Saudi Arabia last December after a long period of convalescence in Morocco following treatment in the US for an unspecified illness.

Third in line to the throne is the reactionary interior minister, Prince Nayeh, who is only 76.

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 7 Dec 2010.