Saudi Gazette report DAMMAM — The District Court in Qatif postponed on Sunday the issuance of a verdict against two people accused of inciting riots in the region last May. The court adjourned after the public prosecutor requested more time to respond to evidence presented by one of the defendants. The two defendants and one of their lawyers were present in court. During the previous session, the lawyer of one of the defendants presented a five-page memo in which the defendant claimed he participated in the demonstrations on May 7 last year after hearing such acts were permitted by law as long as there was no destruction of properties or violence. He saw the demonstrators while passing in the area by coincidence, he said. He denied taking pictures of anti-state slogans written on the walls of a local college of technology. The prosecutor had demanded imprisonment and a fine for the two youths. During at open hearing on Feb. 26 in the same court, the prosecutor accused the defendants of disobeying the ruler, misguiding justice, chanting hostile slogans against the state and photographing anti-state slogans. Meanwhile, the penal court in Qatif is due on Monday to issue a verdict against another individual accused of rioting. He was accused along with 44 other people who were referred to the court by the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution (BIP) recently. Verdicts have already been issued against some of the defendants. If convicted, the defendant could be imprisoned for up to 14 months. The defendant spent 15 months in jail before being released on bail.
