RIYADH, Saudi Arabia: Encouraged by their new monarch's pledge to serve all subjects fairly, Saudi Shias have petitioned King Abdullah with pleas for prisoner releases and equal opportunities.

Shias complain of being marginalised in every department in the country by a government closely attached to religious conservatives.

Shia delegations from Saudi Arabia's oil-producing Eastern Province and its southern region of Najran have separately visited King Abdullah since his accession last month.

“Our visit was mainly about political prisoners, asking for their release,” said Jaafar Ash-Shayeb, from the Mo’mineen-dominated Eastern Province.

Five representatives from Najran's Ismaili community also handed Abdullah a list of requests 10 days ago when they met him.

Their requests included the release of prisoners, a bigger role in state affairs and the return of Shias they said were forcibly moved from Najran after a fierce government crackdown five years ago.

When Abdullah succeeded his half-brother Fahd last month, he promised to work “to achieve justice and righteousness, to serve all people without discrimination”.

Ash-Shayeb said the request for prisoner releases was prompted by a pardon Abdullah granted to five reformists a week after his accession, as well as an amnesty for several Libyans held over a suspected plot to assassinate him in 2003.

He said the Shias had asked for the release of 10 political prisoners. “There was a promise that they will review their cases,” he said, adding that nothing yet had emerged.

Last week, a think-tank warned in a report titled "The Shiite Question in Saudi Arabia," that Saudi Arabia should act decisively to defuse rising sectarian tensions.

It said Saudi Arabia must take action to extend rights and protection for the Shiite in order to prevent frustration escalating into violence.