RIYADH: The Ministry of Justice said Saturday that the Penal Court tasked with cases related to “the deviant group and plots against national security” had by the end of last year heard and reached initial verdicts in a total of 442 cases involving 765 individuals. Abdullah Al-Sa'adan, the spokesman for the ministry, said that 325 cases had gone to appeal. Some verdicts were subsequently approved and others were annulled, while some were sent back for revision following observations from the Appeals Court. “27 defendants were found innocent after the court decided there was not enough evidence against them,” he said. “Those defendants can seek compensation.” Speaking at a press conference in Riyadh Saturday, Al-Sa'adan said that most of the accused chose to defend themselves but some chose to have lawyers represent them.All the accused were aged between 18 and 70, but the majority were in their twenties. “There were no females among them,” he said. “Some hearings were group hearings as all the defendants were connected and of different nationalities.” The 442 cases, he said, involved charges of “belonging to Al-Qaeda and taking part in its terrorist activities, following its ideology and supporting and financing its crimes, communicating with its leadership and members and providing cover for them, forming terrorist cells and incitement to murder in ‘troubled regions'”. Other charges included recruiting to Al-Qaeda, communicating, cooperating and working with foreign elements to plot against the security of the nation by creating chaos, and trading and smuggling arms, and being in possession of illegal materials. He added that the results of the trials would be announced periodically until arrangements have been made for the media to attend hearings.
