JEDDAH: Four Saudis accused of terrorism were recently given the death sentence in Iraq without being allowed to defend themselves, local media reported, quoting informed sources, on Monday.

The Saudis — Fahad Alhezan, Majed Al-Baqmi, Mohammad Abdullah Al-Obaid and Jarallah Salim Al-Jarallah — were transferred from Al-Nasiriyah, Baghdad and Sosah’s prisons to a prison in the Green Zone.

The Green Zone is a residential area for embassies, ministries and Iraqi Parliament and is surrounded by five security barricades.

The sources said that the death sentence was issued by the Al-Nasiriyah Court without the presence of a defense lawyer. The lawyer of Al-Jarallah, appointed by the Saudi embassy in Jordan, was killed in Iraq, said the sources.

A number of Saudis are languishing in Iraqi jails, many of them on terrorism charges. A ray of hope had emerged following the appointment of Thamer Al-Sabhan as the Saudi ambassador in Baghdad last month.

Al-Sabhan has been directed by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman to work on the prisoners’ file and ensure that the prisoners come back to Saudi Arabia. A special meeting is scheduled to be held with the parents of the prisoners.

Four other Saudis — Abdullah Azzam Al-Qahtani, Bader Oufan Al-Meri, Mohammad Sidat Al-Shanqiti and Ali bin Hasan Al-Shahri — were sentenced to various terms in jail in Iraq.

The spokesman for the prisoners’ families, Abdullah Al-Nahed, said: “We appeal to Iraq's ministries of justice and interior to allow our children to contact us. Some of us here have not spoken with them for over a year now.”

Al-Nahed said the parents hope that the Iraqi authorities are treating their children well. “We appeal to the Iraqi authorities to quickly end the procedures of their trials,” he added.

Local media has, meanwhile, warned that some Iraqi lawyers are falsely claiming that they have been appointed by the Saudi Embassy in Jordan and extorting money.

An Iraqi security committee recently stated that there were 71 Saudis held in prisons across the country including the Susa jail in Sulaimaniya and the Badush prison in Mosul, before the Islamic State group took control of the city last summer. In addition, others are being held in two prisons in Baghdad and Nasiriyah in southern Iraq.

Among the 71 prisoners, 15 are facing trial, 24 were tried before the courts, with 20 convicted and one executed.

The Ministry of Interior recently revealed that 2,248 Saudis have left the Kingdom to fight in conflict zones, with only 654 returning home.