MOJ OFFERS MORE DETAILS ON SAUDI TERROR TRIALS

UNCLAS RIYADH 000928

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP, DRL/NESCA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PTER SA
SUBJECT: MOJ OFFERS MORE DETAILS ON SAUDI TERROR TRIALS

REF: RIYADH 921

SUMMARY
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1. (U) In a July 13 press conference, a Saudi Justice
Ministry spokesperson confirmed that additional terror trials
were underway, without specifying numbers. Of the recent 330
verdicts, 323 were found guilty, while 7 were acquitted; 289
of the defendants were Saudi. The spokesperson also
disclosed that 42 of the defendants judged "hard core" would
be held beyond their terms unless they repented before a
judge. End Summary.


ADDITIONAL DETAILS ABOUT TERROR CONVICTIONS
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2. (U) The Ministry of Justice gave a second press
conference on July 13 offering additional details on the
recent terror trial convictions (Ref A). The Ministry's
spokesperson, Dr. Abdullah bin Hamad al-Saadan, confirmed
that additional terror trials were still underway and that
all rulings were preliminary and subject to appeal within 30
days. Of the 330 terror suspects tried, seven were acquitted
while 323 were convicted. Al-Saadan also said 289 of the
defendants were Saudi and 41 were non-Saudi, though he did
not specify the nationalities of the non-Saudis.


SENTENCING DETAILS
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3. (U) Prison sentences ranged from a few months to 30 years
with 13 of the convicted sentenced to more than 20 years.
However, al-Saadan noted that 42 of the most "hard core"
Al-Qaeda militants sentenced to prison would not be released
unless they repent their crimes before a judge following the
end of their prison term. Fifteen of those convicted will
pay financial fines in addition to their prison sentence
while another 15 will be subjected to a travel ban, remaining
in a Saudi city of their choice, upon completion of their
prison sentence. Al-Saadan denied any knowledge of women
being among those convicted, and chose not to disclose
whether religious leaders and intellectuals were among those
convicted, citing the "time constraints" of the press
conference.


DUE PROCESS QUESTIONS
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4. (U) In response to concerns expressed by Saudi and
international human rights activists, al-Saadan sought to
assure the public that the trials were fair and just by
giving an overview of the legal procedures implemented during
the trials. He noted that some of the accused sought and
were given legal assistance while others opted to defend
themselves. Additionally, he pointed out that 179 of the
defendants were content with the rulings issued against them
(Note: President of the quasi non-governmental organization,
National Society for Human Rights (NSHR),Mufleh al-Qahtani
stated that NSHR received complaints from 400 Saudis charged
in terrorism-related cases. End Note).


COMMENT
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5. (SBU) The Ministry still has not released information
identifying individual defendants or linking them to specific
incidents. The requirement that the 42 "hard core"
defendants "repent" means that they could potentially serve
life sentences, and also demonstrates the plasticity of the
Saudi judicial system. Al-Saadan's statement that 179
defendants are "content" with the verdicts against them seems
intended to reinforce the credibility of the judicial process
in the eyes of the public, but also represents an expression
of the government's policy of portraying most extremists as
misguided deviants rather than criminals.
ERDMAN