In its verdict, the judge ruled the public prosecutor had failed to present sufficient and competent evidence to substantiate the charges leveled against the defendant.

However, the court ordered the confiscation of the academic’s personal computer following the discovery of sensitive content on it. The public prosecutor said he would challenge the verdict in the Court of Appeals.

The verdict came after the public prosecutor’s failure to present evidence, which resulted in the court sessions being postponed four times in a row.

Even though the public prosecutor had been given sufficient time, the judge said, he failed to present coherent evidence to support the charges leveled against the suspect.

“The Islamic Shariah rules categorically state allegations against any accused must be proven beyond any doubt. The testimonies given by some prisoners against the accused at the initiative of the public prosecutor were not accepted,” the judge observed.

However, the court found the academic guilty of possessing banned content. Security officials had earlier seized his computer together with several CDs and audio and videocassettes, in addition to banned books. The court ordered the confiscation of all the materials.

Following the verdict, the academic said he would seek compensation from the public prosecutor for framing baseless charges against him. Among those present in the court included the academic’s nine sons as well as representatives of the Human Rights Commission and reporters. The academic’s sons greeted the not guilty verdict with jubilation.

The defendant was accused of a number of charges, including involvement in the Abqaiq oil refinery attack, supporting Al-Qaeda, embracing the takfiri (branding opponents infidels) ideology of the Kharijites, abusing Saudi Islamic scholars and funding terrorist operations. The attack on Abqaiq oil refinery on Feb. 24, 2006 led to the death of a number of security officers. The militants also intended to bomb two other oil installations using explosive-laden cars.

The academic was first arrested in 1995 and released in 2003 before being re-arrested in 2007. He was accused of recruiting a militant and convincing him to follow the takfiri ideology and participating in the Abqaiq refinery attack. During the hearings, the defendant vehemently denied all allegations made against him by the public prosecutor.