A specialized penal court has passed preliminary verdicts in trials of detainees charged with links to Al-Qaeda and its terrorist activities and posing a threat to national security. The verdicts were the first against suspects detained for Al-Qaeda's bloody 2003-2006 campaign of terrorist attacks inside the Kingdom. Justice Ministry spokesman Sheikh Abdullah Al-Sa'adan told Saudi Television Channel 1, Wednesday, that the trials involved 179 cases against 330 detainees. All those convicted have the right to appeal, a spokesman for the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution (BIPP) told the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). The verdicts included fines, travel bans, house arrest, imprisonment and, in one case, corporal punishment (Hadd Al-Hirabah), which might mean the death sentence. “The charges included membership of a deviant group and involvement in its activities, communicating and coordinating, and working with foreign agencies to conspire against national security by causing mayhem and insecurity,” BIPP said. Other charges included the supporting and financing of terrorism and “disobeying the ruler by traveling or attempting to travel to troubled areas in order to fight.” Some people have been cleared of all charges, the BIPP spokesman said, adding that the court proceedings were set to continue for the remaining cases. Al-Sa'dan said the accused or their lawyers can appeal against the verdicts through the Court of Cassation according to the Penal Procedures Regulation and its complementary rules in the Shariah Trial Proceedings Regulations. Legal defense is a right guaranteed by the Shariah and the law, he said. Before commencing the trials, the Specialist Court informed each of the accused of his right to defend himself or to authorize a lawyer to defend him, he said. Arrangements are being made to enable the media to cover the trials, he said. Saudi Arabia has pursued an aggressive campaign against militants since May 2003, when they first began attacks in the Kingdom. Terrorist attacks on three upscale compounds housing mostly European and US expatriates in Riyadh on May 12, 2003, killed 35 people and wounded dozens more. Al-Arabiya television said that among those tried were suspects from those attacks, the Nov. 8, 2003 bombing of Al-Mohaya compound west of Riyadh, attacks on the Interior Ministry and other government offices in Riyadh. Also in the dock were suspects from a failed Feb. 24, 2006 assault on the Abqaiq oil processing center in Eastern Province. The militants facing trial include those who were allegedly directly involved in the attacks and those who are thought to have helped the terrorists by providing refuge, transport and funds. The Kingdom has built a 35,000-strong rapid reaction force to protect oil installations . Official proceedings for the trials began Oct. 21 last year in Riyadh. Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, has many a time assured that the trial of the suspects will be fair and according to the Shariah principles.
