Terror convicts escape death

A special court in Riyadh handed varying jail sentences to seven terror suspects at the end of their trial yesterday.
“We did not see any justification to condemn the convicts to death as demanded by the public prosecutor,” the judge said.
The punishments ranged between three and 15 years in jail besides travel restrictions following the completion of their jail terms.
The first defendant, a Jordanian, was handed 12 years. He will be deported after the completion of his jail term.
The second defendant, charged with plotting a bomb attack at Arar airport with the first and second defendants, was handed 15 years jail. He will not be permitted to travel outside the Kingdom after the prison term.
The third defendant has been jailed for 12 years. He was also involved in a plot to bomb Arar airport, besides other charges such as rebelling against the country’s rulers.
The fourth defendant was sentenced for four years. He was charged with training in the use of weapons for destructive operations in Iraq. He will not be allowed to leave the Kingdom for four years following the jail term.
The fifth defendant, who also participated in weapons training besides other common charges of terror, was handed three years and will not be allowed to leave the Kingdom after his release for three years.
The court handed the sixth defendant three years in jail and three years of travel restriction for various charges.
The seventh defendant, who was charged with issuing fatwas (religious edicts) against the government and asking people to travel to Afghanistan, in addition to other charges, was handed a three-year sentence.
The court found the defendants guilty. They set up a terror cell and participated or plotted various destructive acts of treason.
The charges against the defendants also include executing Al-Qaeda orders, undertaking terror attacks in the Kingdom and colluding with operators outside the country.
They also set up training camps on how to launch attacks on government and civilian establishments.