Followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr carry posters depicting King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia during a demonstration in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, March 18, 2011. – AP Photo

RIYADH: Dozens of Saudi men gathered outside the interior ministry in Riyadh on Sunday despite heavy police presence, to demand the release of jailed relatives, an activist said.

“We have seen at least three or four police vehicles taking people away,” said an activist there who declined to be named.

“Security have arrested around 15 people. They tried to go into the ministry to go and ask for the freedom of their loved ones,” the activist said.

Protests are banned in Saudi Arabia.

A Reuters witness could not get close to the heavily guarded ministry but saw dozens of men in traditional white robes standing there while dozens of police and security forces stood by next to police cars.

There were at least 50 police cars surrounding the ministry.