“Defendant No. 15 trained his own and other children in using machine guns and endangered their lives,” the public prosecutor said while charging 10 alleged members of the Al-Ayeeri cell during yesterday’s hearing.
The special court started the trial Saturday.
The 22-strong terror outfit is named after Yusuf Al-Ayeeri, who founded it allegedly to promote terror attacks in the Kingdom.
Defendant Nos. 12, 13 and 15 to 22 were present in the court yesterday. One of the defendants is a Bahraini.
The charges against them included setting up a secret cell to train recruits in the use of sophisticated weaponry and advanced telecommunication technology, embracing and spreading the takfiri (branding opponents as kafirs) ideology, providing shelter to fugitive terrorists, resisting law enforcement agencies, helping forge travel documents and participating in wars abroad.
Besides other charges against the cell members, Defendant No. 12 is accused of questioning the soundness of religious edicts issued by senior Saudi scholars especially against suicide operations.
Defendant No. 13 was accused of persuading young boys to join terror activities after convincing them that participating in wars in foreign countries was an obligatory Islamic duty. He was also charged with maintaining relations with wanted terrorists such as Abdul Rahman Al-Yaziji and Turki Al-Mutairi.
One of the charges against Defendant No.16 was that he took SR200,000 and advanced telecommunication devices to another Arab country to support terror outfits there.
Defendant No. 17 was accused of not turning himself in to police even after he knew he was a wanted criminal. The public prosecutor said the suspect had also violated his promise to the authorities that he would keep away from locations of terror activities and avoid distributing controversial publications.
The charges against Defendant No. 18 included collecting and sending SR218,000 to help terrorists inside the Kingdom and abroad. He also allegedly set up a website to support foreign terrorists, meeting with a spokesman of Al-Qaeda and possessing a CD on improvising explosives and another on flying aircraft.
Among other charges, Defendant No. 19 was accused of issuing religious edicts to incite people against the rulers of the country.
The prosecutor said Defendant No. 22 kept with him photographs of 26 wanted terrorists, pictures of buildings bombed in east Riyadh with its perpetrators, Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden and Saudi terrorist leader Abdul Aziz Al-Muqrin.
He also allegedly carried with him copies of statements issued by Al-Qaeda on the bombing of Al-Mahaya residential complex and photos of terror attacks on US soldiers and targets in Iraq. He also allegedly had photos of soldiers guarding Saudi military installations.
