Jail terms for 4 Saudi jihadis who returned from Syria

RIYADH: Four Saudi men who travelled abroad to fight in Syria’s civil war have been sentenced by a special Criminal Court to prison, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday.
“The accused were proven to have quit their obedience to the ruler by traveling abroad to fight,” said the SPA report, adding that the men were sentenced to terms ranging between four months and two years and 10 months.
Their crimes included forgery of travel documents and money laundering, the report said.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah decreed in February that citizens involved in fighting overseas faced up to 20 years in prison, a move meant to prevent the radicalization of young people.
Two of those convicted were said to have fought in Syria before becoming disillusioned with the conflict and surrendering to Saudi authorities. The other two had traveled to Yemen with the intention of then going to Syria, other reports say.
The sentences were lenient as the defendants had shown remorse and cooperated with authorities, officials said.
The kingdom has called on citizens fighting in Syria, Iraq and Yemen to return home, describing them as “misled” in official statements.
Earlier reports have said a number of Saudi citizens have died fighting abroad, including one professor at a prestigious university.

(Additional input from Reuters)