A man has justified his possession of material on the deviant Takfiri ideology and explosive operations by saying his work as a mosque imam necessitated him having the information in order to refute the ideology. The man is one of five men who appeared before the district court on Sunday, charged with belonging to the Yanbu terror cell. The defendent claimed he was requested by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs and Endowments to respond to misconceptions about Takfir. His lawyer said: “My client was reading websites about Takfir and blowing-up operations to educate himself about these issues and be able to respond to misconceptions.” His lawyer also claimed that the man played an important role in encouraging the wanted persons to turn themselves in. He then demanded that his client be released on bail until the next court session. However, the Prosecutor General insisted that the man's work as imam doesn't absolve him of the accusation of possessing prohibited material. The court session was attended by relatives of victims, representatives of the American Embassy, a lawyer for one of the accused, human rights representative and members of the media. __
