JEDDAH, 12 January 2005 — A court in Jeddah has sentenced 15 people, including a Saudi woman, to prison terms and lashing for taking part last month in an illegal demonstration called for by Saudi dissident Saad Al-Faqih. Six other defendants are awaiting trial by the Shariah Court.
The state prosecutor objected to the sentences, saying they were too lenient and demanded stiffer ones for the demonstrators who were arrested on Dec. 16. The sentences will be referred to the Court of Cassation.
One of the defendants, a Saudi woman, was sentenced to six months in prison. Two foreign residents among the 15 were given separate jail sentences of five and two months, according to Okaz. In all, 21 people were arrested in Jeddah, 15 of them were tried and sentenced and the remaining six will appear later in court.
The 15 were given varying prison terms by the Shariah court which also ordered that they receive between 100 to 250 lashes. The sentences were passed after taking into consideration the level of involvement of each defendant and the confessions they made admitting taking part in the demonstration and regretting their action.
The court proceedings witnessed confusion as some defendants retracted their confessions when they were brought before the judge and then later admitted taking part in the demonstration. Some pleaded not guilty saying they were unaware of the consequences of taking part in an illegal gathering while others alleged they were onlookers who came to see what was going on.
The defendants were read their rights including the right to have an attorney or agent to speak on their behalf. All chose to defend themselves with the exception of the woman who asked for her brother to speak for her. Her request was granted.
Only a handful of people heeded Al-Faqih’s call for a anti-government demonstration. Security forces were deployed in large numbers in Jeddah as well as in Riyadh in order to discourage the illegal gathering. Police detained some people in the two cities, with witnesses saying that the number of onlookers and other bystanders who came out of curiosity outnumbered the actual demonstrators.
A group of 35 Saudi religious leaders and academics had earlier issued statements warning people against taking part in the protest and describing such actions as madness and those who are behind them as working against the nation.
