The Specialist Penal Court here Monday started looking into the case against 11 terror suspects — all Saudi nationals — facing charges of embracing Takfiri approach that violates the Holy Qur'an, the Prophet's Sunnah and the consensus of Ulema, joining a terrorist cell in Al-Khafji governorate and working under the command of Al-Qaeda, beginning a terrorist operation targeting American forces in Kuwait and making the Kingdom a launch pad for it, planning to target vital sites belonging to Saudi Aramco, terror funding, supporting terrorist operations and recruiting people to carry them out. They have also been charged with sedition, creating discord in society, fabricating lies against the ruler and disobeying him and possessing weapons. The Public Prosecutor read out the charges against the accused and each one of them was given a copy of the charge sheet. The judge reminded the accused of their right to hire a lawyer at the expense of the Ministry of Justice for those who cannot have their own attorneys. The first defendant denied the charges against him, but requested that he should be allowed to present his reply in writing. The second defendant admitted to the charges except for owning a firearm. The third defendant denied all the charges except for the fact that he travelled to Iran with the intention of crossing over to Afghanistan. The fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth and ninth defendants requested for a ministry lawyer for their defense. The seventh and the tenth defendants verbally denied all the charges and the latter requested separating his case from the rest because his mistake was minor. The last accused said he would submit a written reply in the next session.
