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Saudi Arabia Sentences 15 People to Death

Saudi Arabia Sentences 15 People to Death
folder_openMiddle East... access_time7 years ago
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Local Editor

The Saudi Arabian regime on Tuesday sentenced 15 people to death and jailed many more over an alleged spy ring.

Saudi Arabia Sentences 15 People to Death

A court in the capital of Riyadh also gave prison terms ranging from six months to 25 years, and acquitted two, over a three-year case.

Critics had long said the high-profile trial is entirely politically motivated and serves as a distraction from the Gulf state's economic woes.

The 32 were detained in 2013 and went on trial in February charged with an exhaustive list of damning accusations.

Saudi state media alleged the suspects were accused of possessing weapons, forging documents and accepting bribes.

Other charges included supporting peaceful riots and demonstrations in Qatif in eastern Saudi Arabia.

Moreover, they were accused of attempting economic sabotage, of trying to undermine social peace and public order, spread chaos, incite sectarian strife and carry out "hostile acts" against the kingdom.

Prosecutors also accused the alleged spy ring, which includes a university professor, a pediatrician, banker and two clerics of training on espionage techniques.

The gang allegedly attempted to recruit people working in state agencies and hack into computers for sensitive information related to the internal and external security and national economy of Saudi Arabia.

Almost all of the defendants are Shia Muslims and are from the oil rich Eastern province where peaceful street protests calling for democratic reform had bubbled up since the so-called "Arab Spring".

Anger reached fever pitch in this region, when in January, leading cleric and vocal regime critic Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr was executed.

The publicity had swept aside headlines surrounding the Saudis involvement in the war on Yemen, which has martyred more than 10,000 civilians.

During times of low oil prices, Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman had slashed capital spending by 71 per cent and ministers' pay by 20 per cent.

Earlier this year, Saudi Arabian officials said they would behead a disabled man for taking part in protests.

The death penalties for the 15 individuals are open to appeal.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

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