DAMMAM — Three Saudi lawyers were together fined a total of SR1.25 million and banned from writing on any electronic or print media for one to three years after being convicted of undermining the judicial system and defaming the Justice Ministry. According to Al-Hayat daily on Wednesday, the verdict was issued by a special committee of the Ministry of Culture and Information dealing with violations in the electronic audio-visual publishing industry. Under the Kingdom's laws, the three lawyers, who were not identified, have the right to appeal the preliminary verdict within a month, otherwise it will become final. The committee fined two of the lawyers SR500,000 each and banned them from writing on any electronic or print media tool for three years. The third was fined SR250,000 and handed a one-year ban from writing. The committee had received a complaint from the Justice Ministry accusing the three lawyers of defaming the judiciary system and doubting its integrity and credibility on social media. The ministry also accused the three lawyers of defaming it. It said the lawyers described it as the "ugliest ministry in the Kingdom" and the “peak of wickedness”. The three lawyers made a number of sarcastic tweets and cartoons against the ministry and the judiciary system, which they said was corrupt. The ministry said the lawyers leveled false accusations against the judges and published the minutes of some court cases with the intention of defaming the judicial system and turn other lawyers and judges against it. The ministry considered the writings of the three lawyers against the judiciary system to be a gross violation of Shariah and said they were serving foreign interests rather than national causes. It said the lawyers accused the Supreme Judiciary Council of punishing honest judges and supporting corrupt ones. "This accusation undermines the integrity and honesty of the council's members who are reliable and decent people," the ministry said in a statement. The ministry said the actions of the three lawyers would affect the trust of citizens in their judicial system and have serious political and social implications. "This intervention in the work of the judiciary is totally against the law," the ministry said. It added that the three lawyers had crossed the line when it came to exercising their freedom of opinion. The lawyers refused to comment on the ruling when they were approached by the newspaper.
