Amid scenes of joy, he was received Friday at his home in Al-Quds district in Riyadh by his children and relatives and a large crowd of well-wishers. The well-wishers came to congratulate him on his acquittal and release from prison.

The special summary court, which tried the academic, issued a preliminary ruling acquitting him of the charges of supporting terrorism during its session held on Sunday. Representatives of the media and the Human Rights Commission attended the session.

The attorney general had accused the academic of supporting the Al-Qadea terrorist organization, embracing an ideology that was contrary to the Qur'an and Sunnah, inciting people against Saudi religious scholars and financing terrorist operations.

The judge in the case acquitted the defendant on grounds that the charges against him presented by the attorney general were not sufficient to incriminate him. "The request of the attorney general to convict the defendant was therefore dismissed," the judge said.

The judge, however, found the accused owning laptops, computer chips, video cassettes and books containing unlawful material and ruled that all the equipment be confiscated.

The court is expected to hand over official documents containing the ruling to both the defendant and the attorney general who did not agree with the ruling and said he would appeal the verdict.