The Specialized Criminal Court convicted 36 terror accused and sentenced three of them to various jail terms in cases of terrorism and state security in Riyadh.

While giving the ruling, the court revealed that Al-Qaeda militants were planning to take the inmates of Mabahith (Arabic for intelligence) prisons to Iraq and other conflict zones for fighting.

The plans to abduct them were then thwarted by the security authorities following the arrest of one of the 36 men facing terror-related charges. All the convicts were present in the court at the time of the ruling.

The main accused who was sentenced to 10 years in prison was convicted of various offenses including coordinating operations to enable the detainees to escape from Malaz prison and leave for Iraq.

He was also charged with coordinating with a number of Saudi youth to leave the Kingdom and fight in conflict zones.

Besides, he was convicted for planning with another person to smuggle an electric shock device to the prisoners.

The second convict got a jail term for five years for traveling to Darfur to join the groups involved in fighting there. Among other charges he faced included his meeting with the leader of a terrorist group and offering financial aid. The third defendant, a Yemeni national, was ordered a one-and-a-half-year of jail. He will be deported to his country after he completes the prison sentence, the court ruled.

The court will resume giving verdicts on the remaining 33 defendants in subsequent sessions.