JEDDAH: Sources at the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution (BIP) have said that persons facing trial on charges of threatening state security will be treated in accordance with the law and that there will be “no exceptional laws for them during trial”. The sources said that all verdicts are subject to objection and appeal, and that all defendants have access to a lawyer, as stipulated by law. “Trials of persons accused in terrorism cases are conducted by one judge or a judicial circuit of three judges, depending on the charges brought by the attorney general and the sentence sought,” the sources said. A single judge hears cases involving individuals and when the verdict sought is discretionary and not execution, they said, but if the defendant is accused of being part of a terrorist cell or the attorney general is seeking capital punishment then a circuit of three judges hears the case. The sources added that there are in this current year 12 judges looking into such cases, their tasks distributed over several circuits, while a team of prosecutors from the BIP draw up accusations. “The attorney general continues to bring accusations against Saudis and foreigners involved in terrorism cases, their roles varying between taking part in smuggling, making and preparing explosives and harboring persons carrying out acts of terrorism, and financing terrorism and inciting to terrorism,” the sources said. The Ministry of Justice revealed 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. He said that 27 defendants were found innocent after the court decided there was not enough evidence against them. “Those defendants can seek compensation,” he added. 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, financing crimes, communicating with members and providing cover, recruiting and plotting against the security of the nation.
