Saudi Arabia convicts 17 Al-Qaeda suspects

            
The Saudi Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) reportedly sentenced 17 defendants, consisting of 16 Saudis and a Yemeni, to imprisonment for terms ranging between three and 25 years.                 

The Saudi Public Prosecutor accused the defendants on charges of  forming a terrorist cell linked to Al-Qaeda, plotting terrorist operations targeting oil facilities in the Kingdom, attempting to assassinate prominent Saudi personalities to destabilize the Kingdom and setting up training camps inside the Kingdom and in Iraq.                     

The culprits were also charged with arranging their communiqué with coordinators in Syria for infiltration into Iraq and providing weapons and financial support for such acts.                

The court verdicts came after the Riyadh Court of Appeals repealed preliminary verdicts issued against the 17 defendants in a preceding trial.