RIYADH — The Special Penal Court has sentenced five people to varying prison terms and slapped a travel ban on them while a fine of SR5,000 was imposed on one defendant. The prison sentences ranged between three and nine years. Both the prosecution and the defendants decided to appeal the sentences. One of the defendants accused the state of going astray in its internal regulations and transactions. The charges leveled against the defendant included possession of hard disks containing suicide operations with the intention of publishing them, collecting and providing funds to several people to join fighting in Iraq. The charges also included attempting to go to places of sedition in order to fight there and possession of 14 submachine gun bullets and 28 pistol bullets. However, the prosecution failed to prove the charge of adopting Takfiri ideology against him, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said, Thursday. He was sentenced to four years in jail from the date he was detained. The second defendant was sentenced to a fine of SR5,000 on the basis of Article 81 of the Civil Status Regulation, as he handed over his national identity card to another person to facilitate its misuse. He also possessed a CD showing video clips of military operations in Chechnya. The third and fourth defendants each got nine years in prison from the date of their detention and were barred from traveling for the same period. Charges against them included adopting Takfiri ideology, traveling to Afghanistan and glorifying Al-Qaeda leader. The latter was also accused of privy to a plan to target the Director of Intelligence in the Eastern Province. The fifth defendant was sentenced to three years in jail from the date of his detention and was banned from travel for the same period. Charges against him included sheltering several militants who went to Afghanistan and possession of weapons and ammunition. The sixth defendant was sentenced to seven years in jail. He was banned from travel for the same period. Charges against him included following Takfiri ideology, considering the government as that of infidels and supporting Al-Qaeda, among other charges. The court allowed them a month to file objections to the verdict.
