The State Department called on authorities in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to reopen the trial of three democratic advocates and to recognize the right of freedom of expression in the conservative kingdom.
Deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said he was hopeful of a prompt resumption of an open trial, the first held in Saudi Arabia for democratic advocates.
The trial judge abruptly closed the trial on Monday, an action viewed by progressive Saudis as a setback to reform efforts.
A senior U.S. official told reporters in Washington on Tuesday the Bush administration supports freedom of expression in Saudi Arabia and wanted it acknowledged as a way forward to reform.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the administration was encouraged when the trial began in public.
The three defendants are the last remaining detainees among 13 reformers arrested in March after openly criticizing the strict religious environment and slow pace of reform in Saudi Arabia.
Several of the 13 reformers had signed a letter to Crown Prince Abdullah, who effectively is in charge of Saudi Arabia, calling for political, economic and social reforms, including parliamentary elections.
The Bush administration has coupled its war that deposed President Saddam Hussein in Iraq with a public campaign to instill democracy in the Middle East.
The three reformers, Matrouk al-Faleh, Ali al-Dimeeni and Abdullah al-Hamed, are charged with sowing dissent, creating political instability, printing political leaflets and using the media to incite people against the government.