The court heard the replies of the defendants, identified as
Nos. 3, 6 and 8, to the accusations filed against them by prosecutors who claim
the charges are based on the close observation of two groups. The first group faces the
charges of collecting money and giving them to suspicious groups outside the
Kingdom and the second group faces the charges of attempting to sow internal
strife in Saudi Arabia. One of the 16 defendants is also accused of issuing a
fatwa calling for young Saudis to wage jihad in troubled areas abroad.
Prosecutors said both groups held secret and closely guarded
meetings. An undisclosed number of these defendants were arrested on Feb. 3,
2007, at a Jeddah rest house.
Each defendant faces a different mix of charges, but in
addition to the primary ones listed above, charges also include defaming the
Saudi judicial system in an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of its judges;
intervention in the internal affairs of countries abroad by illegal immigration
with the help of foreign intelligence operatives in those countries; promoting
Al-Qaeda and its ideologies inside the Kingdom; liaising with known Al-Qaeda
militants, namely the late Abdul Aziz Al-Muqrin; and
establishing contacts with Al-Qaeda operatives in Iraq. The charges also
include providing financial support to Iraqi insurgents; establishing an
organization called Project of the Generation to collect donations under false
charitable pretenses; open support for Al-Qaeda terrorist acts inside the
Kingdom and abroad; playing host to Al-Qaeda operatives and theologians that
follow devious interpretations of the faith; supporting takfir ideology;
disobedience to the crown; and adopting the ways of the Kharijites.
Suspect Nos. 4, 5 and 7 came to the court after they had
been released on bail.
Spokesman for the Ministry of Justice Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Sadan
said the court started hearing the defendants in its third, fourth, fifth and
sixth sessions held between Oct. 6 and Oct. 9, 2010. He said most of them said
they were unable to spend time with their lawyers to prepare their defenses and
sought more time while some of them denied all the charges against them.
Al-Sadan said eight defendants with their lawyers attended
the seventh session of the court held on Sept. 27, 2010 and claimed that they
were not yet ready to respond to the charges.
He added that during its eighth and ninth sessions held on
May 7-8, 2011, the defendants submitted their written replies ranging between
73 and 500 pages. They answered in the affirmative when the judge asked them if
these were their correct answers except defendant No. 1 who said he had the
right to change his answers.
The spokesman said in its 10th session held on May 9, 2011,
eight of the defendants were given copies of the evidence against them to
review and come up with answers within 10 days. The seventh defendant admitted
that the evidence against him was correct but said he never meant to harm the
country or its leadership. In this session, the judge asked the lawyer not to
intervene and to let the defendants answer for themselves.
