The court is trying in total 41 alleged terrorists,
including 38 Saudis, a Yemeni, a Qatari and an Afghan.
The list of charges, which were read out at the court,
include establishing a terrorist cell on Saudi soil to plan terrorist
operations, supporting and financing terrorism, recruiting terrorists and
transferring militants, weapons and money to Iraq and Afghanistan to finance
terrorist operations there.
Five of the defendants asked the judge to evict press
reporters from the court before they heard the charges against them.
Court sources told Arab News that one of the defendants was
a Saudi sergeant who was working in a critical part of the military sector.
They said he used his experience in wireless communications to develop a code
for the terrorists’ wireless equipment that could not be deciphered or
penetrated.
The accusations against Defendant No. 11, identified as
Nawwaf, included disobeying the ruler by helping Defendant No. 1 to travel to
Iraq. He is also accused of hiding Defendant No. 18 and concealing the
recordings made by Defendant No. 1 near a border post with Iraq.
Defendant No. 12, identified as Abdul Haleem, was accused of
joining a terrorist cell to launch attacks against American forces in Qatar and
Kuwait. This was in addition to a host of other charges including providing
militants with the tools to carry out the first terrorist attack in Qatar,
disobeying the ruler by enabling militants to travel to Iraq and supporting and
financing terrorist operations.
Defendant No. 14, identified as Ayed, was accused of
disobeying the ruler by traveling to Iraq through the land border and
purchasing the equipment needed for infiltration into the country at his own
personal expense. He is also charged with other terror-related offenses,
including conspiring to attack a security building in the border town of Arar.
Defendant No. 15, identified as Ibrahim, was accused of
joining a terrorist cell to carry out attacks against US forces, transporting
and hiding a number of machine guns, disobeying the ruler by coordinating the
travel of militants to Iraq, as well as helping and financing terrorists.
Defendant No. 16, named as Thamir, was accused of purchasing
and transporting firearms, giving his passport to Defendant No. 1 to travel
outside the Kingdom, and escorting two other defendants who were allegedly
carrying weapons until they reached their house.
Defendant No. 17, named as Khaled, was accused of hiding
terrorists in his house, communicating with terrorists in Iraq, and possessing
16 boxes of ammunition.
Defendant No. 18, identified as Miteb, was accused of
disobeying the ruler by transporting terrorists in his car to the Saudi-Iraqi
borders, hiding Defendant No. 1 even though he knew that he was wanted by
security forces, possessing a machine gun and coordinating the transport of
terrorists and weapons to Iraq.
Defendant No. 19, named as Muhammad, was charged with
disobeying the ruler by facilitating the travel of a number of terrorists to
Iraq and providing Defendant No. 1 with a forged identity card to obtain a
forged passport, publicly praising the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Kingdom Abdul
Aziz Al-Miqren, and warning two co-defendants that they were wanted by security
forces.
Defendant No. 20, identified as Abdul Ilah was accused of
infiltrating into Iraq through the Kingdom's borders to join the fighting
there, joining a terrorist combat force in the Iraqi town of Hait, giving an
oath of allegiance to the Islamic army and participating in two terrorist
attacks in Iraq and supporting and financing terrorism.
At the end of the session, the judge gave each of the
defendants a copy of the list of charges. He asked them to submit their written
answers in the next hearings to be decided later. The defendants asked for time
to do so and the judge agreed.
