Saudi Gazette report RIYADH — A judge at a Riyadh criminal court Sunday acquitted a man of inciting hatred against the government due to a lack of evidence. Mubarak Saeed Bin Zu'air was also accused by the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution (BIP) of gathering at the Ministry of Interior building in the capital to demonstrate without obtaining a permit and inciting sedition. The judge said Bin Zu'air has the right to demand compensation for damages in a separate lawsuit, Al-Hayat reported Monday. During the first open court hearing attended by 25 men and women, judge Abdulrahman Al-Yahya said he studied the case file presented by the prosecution and decided to stop proceedings and issue his verdict due to the lack of evidence. The defendant demanded compensation for the damages he suffered including being detained for a whole year and the breakdown of his car. The judge told him: “You have the right to demand compensation for damages sustained in a separate case.” BIP representative Khaled Al-Joufan had raised several charges against Bin Zu'air, 38, and two others who were absent from the session. They included inciting people against the government, disobeying the government by gathering opposite the Ministry of Interior building, gathering and demonstrating without a permit, arousing sedition, noncompliance with regulations and not following the edict (fatwa) of the Board of Senior Ulema.
