Being a Saudi political activist means learning to do jail time

"He accused us of being influenced by calls for reform and said to us, 'your demands are the Americans' demands,'" says Basrawi. But several of those present pointed out that they'd been jailed for their political demands a long time before the recent US administration's call for political reforms in the region, Basrawi says. Abdullah al-Hamid, in detention now, reminded the prince he was jailed in the 1980s for trying to set up a human rights group, says Basrawi.

Tayeb has been pressing for greater democracy in the kingdom for four decades. In 1963 he wrote an article in local newspaper Al Nadwah asking for an elected parliament. Since then he's been an advocate of setting up of civic groups and the right to free speech. For his troubles, he was jailed five times, spent a total of six years behind bars, including 88 days in solitary confinement. In the mid-70s he was forced to leave his job at the Hajj Ministry after a stint in prison, and turned to publishing. While heading one of the country's largest publishing houses, he studied law in his spare time, and got his degree the year he turned 60, hoping to work in human rights when the time was right.

In a country where dissidents are often co-opted or brought back into the fold as prodigal sons, Tayeb has been both in and out of favor with the Saudi royal family. In January he was appointed as a member of the Council for the National Dialogue, set up by Prince Abdullah to improve communication between Saudi men and women from different schools of thought.

During the oil-boom period lasting from the mid-'70s till the early '80s, when petrodollars pouring into the country pushed thoughts of political reform aside, several senior members of the ruling family, including Prince Nayef and Prince Sultan, were guests at his Tuesday night literary salon.

In recent years, the Tuesday night meetings became one of the rare public forums here for political discussion. Journalists, diplomats (both the German and American consuls), and even a son of the king came to hear what Saudis were talking about. Prince Abdul-Aziz bin Fahd came in December to check in on the reformists, says businessman and writer Jamil Farsi.

"People were very honest about what kind of reforms they wanted, the need for an end to corruption and quick economic and political changes. He listened very well and said the government was planning to implement reforms real soon," says Mr. Farsi.

But Tayeb and the others, impatient at the slow pace of change, continued to speak out for more democracy in several interviews leading up to their arrests. "We are facing grave dangers. The only guarantee against them is reforms. The only alternative to reforms is destruction and falling into the hellish circle of violence and extremism. That's what we're trying to avoid," he told the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation earlier this year.

At the request of authorities, Tayeb has suspended his Tuesday evening gatherings, but he still receives many visitors. At a recent gathering, a line of guests sit opposite Tayeb, as smoke drifts out of their water pipes. "So, with the constraints placed on you now, what are your plans?" asks a guest. "What are you doing about Matrouk (al-Faleh) and Abdullah al-Hamid?" says another.

He smiles and replies: "I will continue to dream of a better future for my country and I will make an effort to achieve that dream. As for Matrouk and Abdullah, they are my friends, my comrades, my partners in a common goal. I understand that they will be represented by a lawyer very soon. I am following their case closely and will continue to do so until they too are back to a normal life."

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