MADINAH — The Administrative Court here started Wednesday the trial of a Saudi judge and 36 other accomplices who allegedly embezzled more than SR600 million in bribes and forgery operations. The judge is commonly known in the Kingdom as the “jinn (genie) judge” because he claimed he was under a magic spell when he committed the crimes. The Attorney General provided the court with a list made up of 93 pages containing charges against the accused, including 11 against the judge such as forgery, accepting bribes and misuse of power. The judge was sacked from his position and his immunity rescinded. The judge and the defendants, who were court officials, government employees and a famous lawyer, were brought to the court by force because they were absent from three previous hearings. The case had remained with the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution (BIP) for about nine months due to the large number of defendants.— SG
