Saudi court jails 17 for up to 33 years on terrorism charges

The Special Criminal Court in Riyadh sentenced on Monday 17 members of a terrorist group to jail terms ranging from nine to 33 years, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

They were convicted of embracing a deviant ideology, contacting and sheltering members of Al-Qaeda network, funding terrorist activities, illegal possession of weapons, undermining national security and forging ID documents.

They were also accused of disobeying the country's ruler and traveling to conflict zones to take part in fighting. The court gave the defendants 30 days to appeal the verdict.

The 17 men are part of a larger group of 67 defendants on trial over similar accusations.

The statement did not specify the nationalities of the defendants or where they had fought. But in July 2011, the Kingdom began a series of prosecutions for alleged offenses committed during the peak of Al-Qaeda violence in the country between 2003 and 2006.

This article was first published in Saudi Gazette on Monday, Aug. 25, 2014.