Leocadia blog

Saudi tries 5,080 'terror' suspects: prosecutor

A total of 5,080 "terror" suspects are being tried or have already been sentenced in Saudi Arabia, which battled a wave of Al-Qaeda attacks in 2003-2006, the kingdom's prosecutor said Saturday.

A court specialised in "terror crimes" has issued its verdicts in the case of 1,612 people, while 603 other cases are still being examined, the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution said in a statement carried by SPA state news agency.

Prosecutors were also preparing charges against 934 suspects, while still investigating the cases of 1,931 others before referring them to the court, it said.

"The total number of terror suspects... is 5,080," said the statement.

The Riyadh court, which operates secretly, was set up to try those suspected of links to Al-Qaeda jihadist network.

The government has arrested scores of people for alleged involvement in Al-Qaeda attacks or plots inside Saudi Arabia, especially between 2003 and 2006.

In a May 2009 petition to King Abdullah, 77 reform advocates criticised the secrecy of the trials and said any judgements reached by the "ad hoc security courts" would be questionable.