He is being tried alongside 16 other men in a special court in Jeddah.
“My words were just part of a debate and nothing was meant by it,” the prime accused said when responding to the judge who accused him of wanting to launch an army called “Al-Jaish Al-Muslim.”
The judge had been citing a statement from Defendant No. 10, who also said in his confession that the accused was addressing Iraqi and Syrian militants visiting him at a particular rest house in Jeddah used as the headquarters for covert operations.
The prime accused said the foreign visitors were not militants and that they came to him to advise him on financial and administrative matters.
At the beginning of the hearing, the judge banned the presence of reporters including Arab News in the court hall because the prime defendant did not want the details of his statements carried in the press.
On Wednesday, the same defendant did not allow reporters from Al-Hayat newspaper and Al-Arabia television channel in the courtroom.
Arab News obtained details of Sunday’s proceedings from a source in the court.
The prime accused requested the judge to permit him to consult with his lawyer before responding to his questions, although he dismissed the statements of the Defendant No. 10 as the irrational statements of a scared man. He also questioned how his co-defendant could make a statement that would blatantly land him in trouble.
After consulting his lawyer, the prime accused told the judge that he would give a written reply and that he needed some records he had at his home and his father’s house to provide his response. The judge agreed to make the records available.
The charges against the 16 defendants, who were arrested in February 2007 while holding a meeting in a rest house in Jeddah governorate, included undertaking illegal activities such as collecting donations to assist foreign militants apart from inciting the Saudi youth to join terrorist fighters abroad and issuing fatwas to support acts of terrorism.
The charges also included undertaking activities aimed at destabilizing the Kingdom by breeding hatred among people against the government. They also sought to spread chaos with the help of foreign agents with the aim of seizing power.
