The government announced two weeks ago that seven people had been arrested for suspicious contacts with foreign entities and offering financial support to "enemies overseas," and it said other suspects were being sought. It did not identify the detainees.
Last week, Saudi Arabia released four women's rights activists, fellow activists and Amnesty International said. The terms of their release were unclear.
Activists and diplomats have speculated that the new wave of arrests may be aimed at appeasing conservative elements opposed to social reforms pushed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It may also be a message to activists not to push demands out of sync with the government's own agenda, they said.
State-backed media had labelled those held as "agents of embassies," unnerving diplomats in Saudi Arabia, a key ally of the United States.
Prince Mohammed has courted Western allies in a bid to open up the deeply conservative Muslim kingdom and diversify its oil-dependent economy, the region's largest.
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