Cairo ( CNN ) -- Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador to Egypt and closed its embassy in Cairo and its consulates in Alexandria and Suez Saturday , following protests in the Egyptian capital over a human rights lawyer imprisoned in the Arab kingdom . The decision to pull out Saudi diplomats came after protester `` attempts to storm and threaten the security and safety of its ( embassy ) employees , '' according to the Saudi Press Agency . Throngs of Egyptians had gathered in front of the Saudi Embassy this week , calling for the release of Egyptian lawyer Ahmed el-Gezaw -- detained earlier this month for allegedly insulting King Abdullah . Saudi officials say el-Gezawi was arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle thousands of pills into the country . But the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights say el-Gezawi had been traveling on a pilgrimage to Mecca when he was detained . The Cairo-based group credited the activist for demanding better treatment of Saudi-held Egyptian detainees and criticizing the kingdom over alleged human rights abuses . El-Gezawi has since been sentenced to flogging and faces a year behind bars , the group reported . Video of the demonstrations in Cairo was posted online earlier this week and showed sign-wielding crowds chanting slogans in front of the Saudi Embassy . `` Say it , do n't be afraid , the Egyptian will be lashed , '' the crowd chanted . `` We will lash the ambassador ! Lash us imprison us ! Tomorrow the revolution will be in Medina . '' In a statement Saturday , the Egyptian government denounced `` these irresponsible acts , '' saying that it regrets `` the individual incidents , which were conducted by some citizens against the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Cairo . '' `` The incidents only reflect only the view of those who carried them out and nothing more , '' the statement said . The protests and Saturday 's decision by Saudi authorities to remove diplomatic personnel from the country appear to have again ratcheted up longstanding tensions between the two Middle Eastern nations . `` It 's a relationship that 's been flawed , '' said Steven Cook , senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations . `` Especially since the uprising , many Egyptians regard Saudis as a counterrevolutionary force in the region . '' Relations between the two countries soured in 1979 when the kingdom broke off diplomatic relations with Egypt after it inked a peace deal with Israel following the Camp David Accords . The ties were later restored in November 1987 . Egypt , the most populous Arab country , has often engaged in `` a subtle competition '' with their Saudi counterparts `` over this question of regional leadership , '' Cook said . Egypt erupted in protest last year during 18 days of demonstrations in Cairo 's Tahrir Square after similar uprisings in neighboring Tunisia , ultimately ousting Egypt 's longtime president Hosni Mubarak after nearly three decades in power . `` The Saudis were not enthusiastic about their uprising , '' Cook said of Egypt , pointing to apparent concerns among elites in the oil-rich kingdom over their own grip on power . `` And they were angry at the United States for its role in supporting the movement . '' In February 2011 , President Barack Obama called for orderly transition in Egypt to a fully representative democracy , saying the transition `` must be meaningful , it must be peaceful and it must begin now . '' CNN 's Mohamed Fadel Fahmy , Caroline Faraj and Salma Abdelaziz contributed to this report .
NEW : Cairo denounces `` these irresponsible acts , '' referring to the Cairo protests . The closures come after protests in front of the embassy . Throngs of Saudi call for the release of Saudi human rights lawyer Ahmed el-Gezawi . Egyptians officials say Ahmed el-Gezawi was arrested trying to smuggle pills into the country .