Apart from 36 Saudis, the defendants included four Egyptians, two Yemenis, two Chadians, two Sudanese, two Syrians and a Nigerian.
Defendant Nos. 21 and 22, who were present in the court, received their charge sheets during the hearing.
The public prosecutor who read out the charges against the two said the suspects were involved in spreading sedition by issuing fatwas (religious edicts) and inciting people to participate in a holy war in Iraq, in addition to embracing takfiri (declaring Muslims as kafirs) ideologies.
Two defendants declined a court offer to appoint lawyers to defend them, saying they would represent themselves.
A representative of the Saudi Human Rights Commission and reporters attended the hearing.
Trials involving the 85-member Turki Al-Dandani cell, the four-member Qatari cell and the seven-member Al-Barqi cell are under way separately.
