The defendants, all in their 20s, included 38 Saudis and one each from Qatar, Yemen and Afghanistan. Nine of them stood in the dock Saturday.

The defendants were accused of forming a cell in Saudi Arabia to plan terrorist operations against American forces in Qatar and Kuwait, finance the current fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, recruit people for Al-Qaeda in Iraq and establish border passes to smuggle arms, funds and fighters to Iraq.

The first defendant, known by his initials of M.Z., was a 27-year-old Saudi with an intermediate school certificate. He was allegedly the ameer (leader) of the cell in the Kingdom. He faced a number of accusations including:

— Leading a terrorist cell in Saudi Arabia with the intention of carrying out terrorist operations against American forces in Qatar.

— Providing funds and recruiting militants for the operation.

— Readiness to participate in a terrorist operation in Kuwait.

— Smuggling weapons and combat equipment to Iraq and recruiting individuals to wire cars with explosives.

— Disobeying the ruler by traveling to Iraq several times and participating in the fighting there.

— Opening of a border route for Saudi militants to travel to Iraq.

— Purchasing four communications equipment and two chargers in addition to assigning others to purchase three motorbikes for traveling to Iraq.

— Forging an identity card to use in traveling to Kuwait and from there to Iraq.

— Firing at border guards who tried to stop him while he was infiltrating into Iraq.

The second defendant, B.A., is from Afghanistan and 27 years old. He is married, has an elementary school certificate and was working as a laborer in the Kingdom. The charges against him include:

— Supporting and financing terrorist operations.

— Assisting the first defendant in looking for a route to use in traveling to Afghanistan.

— Obtaining laser CDs about fighting in Afghanistan.

The third defendant, N.A., is a 28 year-old Saudi who is unemployed and has an intermediate education certificate. The charges against him include:

— Disobeying the ruler by traveling to Iraq to join the fighting.

— Owning four machine guns and ammunition to use for terrorist attacks and also for destabilizing security.

— Helping the first defendant obtaining a forged passport.

The fourth defendant, A.A., is a Saudi and is charged with:

— Joining a terrorist cell under the leadership of the first defendant to carry out terrorist operations in Qatar.

— Supporting and financing terrorist operations.

— Facilitating the traveling of militants to Iraq.

— Disobeying the ruler by traveling several times to Iraq.

The fifth defendant is a Qatari known as A.I. who is 28 with a diploma. He was charged with:

— Establishing and leading a terrorist cell in Qatar.

— Giving the allegiance of oath to the fourth defendant to target US forces in Qatar.

— Using Saudi territory to plan terrorist acts.

— Smuggling arms to Qatar.

— Sending a man to Iraq to wire cars with explosives.

— Facilitating the travel of four militants from Qatar to Iraq.

— Purchasing a machine gun (Kalashnikov) with 660 live rounds.

— Training people on the use of firearms.

— Owning a PC containing banned material urging militants to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The seventh defendant, Z.A., is a 23-year-old Saudi who is single and has a secondary school certificate. He is charged with:

— Disobeying the ruler by traveling to Iraq to participate in fighting there.

— Buying and owning arms.

— Supporting and financing terrorism.

— Purchasing equipment for militants traveling to Iraq.

— Assisting the first defendant in obtaining a forged passport and renting a house in Riyadh for him.

The eighth defendant is a 22-year-old Saudi who is single and has a secondary school certificate. He is charged with:

— Joining a terrorist cell in the Kingdom.

— Disobeying the ruler by traveling to Iraq to join the fighting.

— Recruiting terrorists and facilitating their travel to Iraq.

— Owning firearms.

The ninth defendant is a Yemeni known as A.M. He is 20 years old and single. He is accused of:

— Supporting and financing terrorism.

— Helping two militants in Syria to enter into Iraq.

— Traveling from the Kingdom to Yemen and returning in an illegal way.

— Issuing forged travel documents.

The 10th defendant is a Saudi who is accused of:

— Helping the first defendant to travel from Saudi Arabia to Kuwait with a forged passport.

— Attempting to travel to Kuwait without a passport.

The prosecution called for death sentences for five of the nine defendants and prison terms for the others. The prosecutor read out the charges against the defendants during the court session. The presiding judge asked the defendants to submit their written answers to the charges against them. He accepted the request by some defendants to appoint lawyers and allowed them enough time to do so. The defendants asked to bring their written answers to the court after the Haj and the judge agreed.

A representative from the Human Rights Commission and eight from the media attended the session from which the sixth defendant was absent.