[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 16



THAILAND:

Pre-trial hearing underway for Koh Tao accused


Pre-trial testimony began on October 14 in the case of 2 Myanmar migrant 
workers accused of murdering a vacationing British couple in Koh Tao, Thailand.

The judge, defense team, and public prosecutors heard testimony from key 
witnesses in the case and the 2 defendants. While the public prosecutor already 
had access to the statements each witness gave to the police, having the 
testimonies read in court allows them to be officially added to the case file, 
under Thai law.

For the next step, the police will make "modifications" to the case file based 
on the requests of the public prosecutor's office, according to Mr Andy Hall, a 
migrant rights expert who helped organize a pro-bono team of lawyers for the 
accused.

Once the file is returned, the prosecutor's office will make the final decision 
over whether or not to take the case to trial. While October 15 is technically 
the last day the 2 Myanmar nationals can be held according to Thai law, the 
public prosecutor's office has asked for the detention to be extended another 
15 days, according to Mr Hall.

Speaking to The Myanmar Times via email, Mr Hall says this process can often 
stretch out for years in the Thai legal system, "but surely this will be rushed 
through."

If convicted, both men could face the death penalty.

The small island of Koh Tao, long a popular destination for tourists, has been 
the center of international media attention since mid-September, when the 
bodies of David Miller and Hannah Witheridge were discovered on the beach.

After 2 weeks of investigation, Thai authorities identified 2 Myanmar migrant 
workers as suspects. Both men were brought in for questioning on October 1, 
where they eventually confessed after several hours of interrogation, according 
to Thai media.

The arrests have been controversial because of reports suggesting the men may 
have been mistreated during their interrogation. Senior police officials in Ko 
Tao reportedly insisted from the start that the murder could not have been 
committed by a Thai person and made the Myanmar migrant worker community their 
focus, creating the perception that they may not have considered all options.

Additionally, the investigation's credibility has been tarnished by widespread 
reports the Thai police tortured Myanmar migrant workers in the area in their 
quest for suspects, and similarly tortured the accused.

On his Facebook account, Mr Hall raised further doubts about the fairness of 
the legal proceedings, as the defense team he helped assemble has had very 
little chance to consult with the defendants.

"Appointed defense lawyers had 30 minutes with accused yesterday and arrived 
late last night. Right to fair trial means adequate prep time," he wrote.

While the president's office said on October 9 that an independent commission 
would be formed to investigate the allegations of abuse, no further details 
have been provided by state media.

The president's office could not be reached for comment.

(source: Myanmar Times)






PAKISTAN:

LHC upholds blasphemy convict Asia Bibi's death penalty


The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday upheld the death sentence of a 
Christian women convicted of blasphemy 4 years ago, as her lawyers vowed to 
appeal.

Asia Bibi, a mother of five, has been on death row since November 2010 after 
she was found guilty of making derogatory remarks about the Holy Prophet 
Mohammed (peace be upon him) during an argument with a Muslim woman.

"A 2-judge bench of the Lahore High Court dismissed the appeal of Asia Bibi but 
we will file an appeal in the Supreme Court of Pakistan," her lawyer Shakir 
Chaudhry told AFP.

Blasphemy is an extremely sensitive issue in Pakistan where 97 % of the 
population is Muslim and unproven claims regularly lead to mob violence.

2 high-profile politicians - then Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer and minorities 
minister Shahbaz Bhatti - were murdered in 2011 after calling for reforms to 
the blasphemy law and describing Bibi's trial as flawed.

The blasphemy allegations against Bibi date back to June 2009.

She was working in a field when she was asked to fetch water. Muslim women 
labourers objected, saying that as a non-Muslim she was unfit to touch the 
water bowl.

A few days later the women went to a local cleric and put forward the blasphemy 
allegations.

Over a dozen religious clerics - including Qari Saleem who brought forward the 
initial complaint against Bibi - were present at the court Thursday.

"We will soon distribute sweets among our Muslim brothers for today's verdict, 
it's a victory of Islam," Saleem told AFP outside the courtroom as the clerics 
congratulated each other and chanted religious slogans.

Pakistan's tough blasphemy laws have attracted criticism from rights groups, 
who say they are frequently misused to settle personal scores.

Lawyers who defend people accused of blasphemy - and judges seen as lenient - 
also risk being accused of the crime themselves and regularly face 
intimidation.

Last month a prison guard at the notorious Adiala jail in Rawalpindi shot and 
wounded a 70-year-old Scottish man with a history of mental illness who is on 
death row for blasphemy.

The jail also houses Mumtaz Qadri, the former bodyguard of governor Taseer who 
gunned him down in an Islamabad market place. He was given a death sentence but 
heralded by some as a hero for killing Taseer.

Blasphemy carries the death penalty, though Pakistan has had a de facto 
moratorium on civilian hangings since 2008. Only one person has been executed 
since then, a soldier convicted by a court martial and hanged in November 2012.

(source: Agence France-Presse)

**************************

Danish aid to Pakistan threatened by shifting death penalty stance----1st 
execution in 6 years could doom aid program


Denmark's aid to United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) programs in 
Pakistan hangs in the balance as the southern Asian nation continues to grapple 
with death penalty issues.

The unofficial moratorium on executions that has existed in Pakistan since 2008 
is looking more fragile than ever because the new government wants to crack 
down on crime and Islamist militants, pledging to implement the death penalty 
as a deterrent.

Later this month, the nation could potentially execute its 1st prisoner in 6 
years, which would spell an end to the moratorium and could lead to Denmark 
reconsidering its aid to the UNODC program in Pakistan.

Following closely

Lars Vogtmann Sorensen, a desk officer dealing with affairs pertaining to 
Pakistan at the Foreign Ministry, told the Copenhagen Post that the Danes are 
following the execution case closely.

"Denmark is a very strong supporter of the total abolition of the death penalty 
so we work along these lines and we've made that clear to the Pakistani 
government on a number of occasions," Sorensen said.

"And not only bilaterally with the Pakistani authorities, but also via the EU, 
which holds more weight than Denmark can manage to convey alone."

Contingent on conditions

Sorensen also stated that the Danish government was in very close contact with 
the UNODC, locally in Islamabad and in Vienna where they are headquartered, to 
ensure that Danish funding is going to activities that are consistent with 
Denmark's stance on capital punishment.

>From 2010-2014, Denmark has given some 16 million kroner to UNODC anti-drug 
programmes in Pakistan, specifically supporting 3 aims in the country.

These aims are: enhanced border management; promoting more effective 
investigations of criminals - training and reviewing, improving the rule of law 
and making sure that due process is done - and supporting prison management so 
it adheres to international standards, which includes the expansion of 
Pakistan's rehabilitation program and the establishment of independent prison 
monitors.

Several stays of execution

At the centre of it all is Shoaib Sarwar, a death row inmate convicted of 
murder in 1998, who was scheduled to be executed by hanging on September 18, 
and then again on October 13 after a postponement of the initial moratorium 
lift.

On Tuesday, the Copenhagen Post learned via Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) - a 
non-profit human rights law firm in Lahore - that Sarwar's execution had once 
again been postponed until October 27 after the attorney general failed to 
submit a reply on the status of the moratorium on the death penalty.

Sticking to principles

It's not the 1st time that Danish counter-narcotics aid has hung in the 
balance, and the Danes have shown that they won't hesitate to withdraw aid 
should it conflict with the nation???s principles and responsibilities.

In April last year, the development minister at the time, Christian Friis Bach, 
decided to end support to the UNODC programme in Iran due to revelations that 
Iran had been using the programme to execute hundreds of criminals every year.

Opposition should be enough

But until the moratorium is lifted, Danish aid will continue to flow, much to 
the consternation of Reprieve - a non-profit organisation that works against 
the death penalty worldwide, Pakistan included - which maintains that the issue 
shouldn't be about whether an execution can go ahead, but rather the principle 
that Denmark and the EU are opposed to capital punishment.

"If we're going to stand behind our principles there, we need to not contribute 
in any way if we can see there's a link between the aid we give and the 
executions and death sentences," Maya Foa, the strategic director of the death 
penalty team at Reprieve, said.

"As Denmark has established with Iran, it needs to apply that consistency and 
express its position on the death penalty rather than being concerned that an 
execution might take place."

Tough prison conditions

Foa said that prisons in Pakistan are incredibly overcrowded and can be death 
sentences in themselves as inmates can languish behind bars for decades - a 
practice that European human rights courts have deemed a cruel and unusual 
punishment.

Foa argues that it is irrational for Denmark to fund projects that push a law 
enforcement model in a country where the law being enforced carries a potential 
death sentence - there are 27 offences in Pakistan legally punishable by death, 
including blasphemy and sexual intercourse outside of marriage.

Transfer the aid

But the Danes shouldn't withdraw their aid, argues Foa, but instead transfer 
aid from the strict law enforcement perspective, which embraces increased 
arrests as an indicator of success, to preventative measures, such as tackling 
drug dependency.

"The people they are convicting, thanks to European and Danish funding, are the 
most vulnerable people in society. These are people with severe mental health 
issues, people with intellectual disabilities and people who are old," Foa 
said.

"It is people who are easy to pin a drug offence charge on - people who are 
easily manipulated and are ending up on death row - and it is astonishing to me 
that we could possibly support such a regime. It's failing on all levels."

High fabrication rate

Foa's statement is backed up by the former additional attorney general in 
Pakistan, Tariq Khokhar, who revealed that 60 to 70 % of litigations or FIR 
reports - a police document registering a cognisable offence - in Pakistan are 
falsified or fabricated.

Foa contended that the Danish contribution to UNODC's general efforts is high 
compared to other countries and, as such, it is in effect contributing to some 
regimes that take a very aggressive stance on drugs.

"Indirectly, I would say that it is involved in the general war on drugs 
efforts," Foa said.

A spokesperson from the UNODC would only comment to the Copenhagen Post that 
the organisation followed the UN Convention and was working towards "abolishing 
the death penalty on a global scale" and had no specific comment concerning the 
Pakistan case.

(source: Copenhagen Post)






SAUDI ARABIA----execution

Saudi beheads Pakistani heroin smuggler


Saudi Arabia has beheaded a Pakistani man, the interior ministry says, bringing 
to almost 60 the number of executions in the kingdom this year.

Mohammad Yunus Mohammed Shoaib, executed in the Eastern Province community of 
Qatif, "was caught smuggling a large quantity of heroin into the kingdom inside 
his gut," the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday carried by the official 
Saudi Press Agency.

His decapitation takes to 57 the number of people executed by sword in the 
ultra-conservative Gulf nation this year, compared with 78 people in all of 
2013, according to an AFP count.

On Tuesday a Saudi, Hamad bin Awadh bin Hawi Al-Anzi, was executed in northern 
Jawf region "because he smuggled a large quantity of amphetamine pills into the 
kingdom", SPA said.

The Interior Ministry said the government "is keen on combating narcotics due 
to their great harm to individuals and the society".

A United Nations independent expert in September called for an immediate 
moratorium on the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.

Christof Heyns, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or 
arbitrary executions, said trials "are by all accounts grossly unfair" and 
defendants are often not allowed a lawyer.

He said confessions were obtained under torture.

Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable 
by death under Saudi Arabia's strict version of Islamic sharia law.

(source: SBS news)

************************

Saudi Arabia Beheaded 59 People So Far This Year - But Hardly Anyone is Talking 
About It


The string of beheadings of American and British hostages at the hands of the 
Islamic State has drawn horror and intense media scrutiny the world over, 
redoubling international determination to defeat the extremist group.

But with IS dominating headlines, it is easy to forget that Saudi Arabia, a 
member of the UN's Human Rights Council and a close ally of America in the war 
against the Islamist fighters, is itself routinely carrying out the practice of 
beheading.

Since January of this year, 59 people have been beheaded in Saudi Arabia under 
the country's antiquated legal system based primarily around sharia law.

Last month saw Saudi Arabia behead at least 8 people - twice the number of 
Western hostages who have so far featured in IS's barbaric execution videos. In 
August those executed by Riyadh were sentenced to death for crimes such as 
apostasy, adultery and "sorcery." In one case, four members of the same family 
were executed for "receiving large quantities of hashish," a sentence imposed, 
according to Amnesty International, on the basis of "forced confessions 
extracted through torture."

The human rights group has reported a "disturbing surge" in executions in the 
kingdom. Said Boumedouha, deputy director of Amnesty International's Middle 
East and North Africa Program, said that many are executed for petty crimes, 
highlighting the frequent and seemingly casual imposition of such sentences.

"The use of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia is so far removed from any kind 
of legal parameters that it's almost hard to believe," Boumedouha remarked.

Mohammed Saad-al Beshi, a Saudi state executioner, told Arab News in 2003 that 
he felt that he was carrying out "God's work" and that "when prisoners get to 
the execution square, their strength drains away."

The practice is not confined to adults. According to Amnesty International, 
Saudi Arabia executed at least one person under the age of 18 this year, a 
violation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The manner by which confessions are extracted also paints a bleak picture, 
activists say. "The executions of people accused of petty crimes and on the 
basis of 'confessions' extracted through torture has become shamefully common 
in Saudi Arabia," Boumedouha said.

The UN has sought to distance itself from Saudi Arabia on the issue, despite 
the membership of Saudi Arabia upon the UN Human Rights Council, a position it 
was elected to by the UN General Assembly.

In September, Juan Mendez, the UN special rapporteur on torture, remarked that 
"beheadings as a form of execution is cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment 
and prohibited under international law under all circumstances."

Independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council have also been 
quick to denounce the kingdom's brutal practice, commenting that "the practice 
of beheading, especially after unfair trials for crimes that may not carry the 
death penalty under international law, is shocking and grossly inappropriate."

However, as an oil rich Western ally seen as key to the US-led offensive 
against IS, there remains little hope, at least within the short term, of large 
scale international condemnation.

(source: Vice News)

*****************************

Appalling death sentence against Shi'a cleric must be quashed


Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr has been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia today.

A death sentence passed today against a dissident Shi'a Muslim cleric in Saudi 
Arabia for "disobeying the ruler", "inciting sectarian strife" and 
"encouraging, leading and participating in demonstrations" after a deeply 
flawed trial is appalling and must be immediately quashed, said Amnesty 
International.

"The death sentence against Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr is part of a campaign by 
the authorities in Saudi Arabia to crush all dissent, including those defending 
the rights of the Kingdom's Shi'a Muslim community," said Said Boumedouha, 
Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa 
Programme.

Sheikh al-Nimr's brother, Mohammad al-Nimr, was reportedly arrested after the 
sentence was passed at the Specialised Criminal Court in Riyadh.

The reasons for Mohammad al-Nimr's arrest and his whereabouts remain unknown - 
although it is believed he was detained after tweeting about his brother???s 
death sentence.

"The shocking death sentence against Sheikh al-Nimr followed by the arrest of 
his brother in court today illustrate the lengths Saudi Arabia will go to in 
their quest to stop Shi'a activists from defending their rights. Sheikh al-Nimr 
must be released and Saudi Arabia must end its systematic discrimination and 
harassment of the Shi???a community," said Said Boumedouha.

Sheikh al-Nimr, a vocal critic of the Saudi Arabian authorities' harassment of 
Shi'a Muslims, was initially charged with banditry and other offences after 
security agents claimed he had opened fire on them when he was arrested on 8 
July 2012. The sheikh was shot and wounded during the arrest.

Evidence for all the other charges he was convicted of came from religious 
sermons and interviews attributed to the cleric. Amnesty International's review 
of these texts confirms that he was exercising his right to free expression and 
was not inciting violence. Some of the charges, such as disobeying the ruler, 
should not be offences as they criminalize the right to freedom of expression. 
Other charges are vague and have been used simply to punish him for his 
peaceful activities.

"Sheikh al-Nimr's trial has been seriously flawed. Eyewitnesses, whose 
testimonies were the only evidence used against him, were not brought to court 
to testify. This violates the country's own laws. The Sheikh was denied the 
most basic means to prepare for his defence and was not represented by legal 
counsel for some of the proceedings because the authorities did not inform his 
lawyer of some dates of the hearings," said Said Boumedouha.

Sheikh al-Nimr, who is the Imam of al-Awamiyya mosque in al-Qatif, eastern 
Saudi Arabia, also suffered from ill-treatment throughout his 2-year detention, 
most of which he spent in solitary confinement in military hospitals and at the 
al-Ha'ir prison in Riyadh.

Access to his family and lawyers - including during interrogations - has been 
irregular. He was also denied surgery to remove a bullet in his back.

Treatment for his right leg, which remains paralyzed since he was shot during 
his arrest, has also been refused.

Saudi Arabians in the Kingdom's predominantly Shi'a Eastern Province have been 
calling for reforms since before February 2011, when the "Arab Spring" 
uprisings swept through the Middle East and North Africa.

Saudi authorities have responded by cracking down on those suspected of taking 
part in or supporting protests or expressing views critical of the state.

Members of the Shi'a community have been arrested, imprisoned and harassed for 
holding collective prayer meetings, celebrating Shi'a religious festivals and 
for breaching restrictions on building mosques and religious schools.

In May and June 2014 at least 5 Shi'a Muslims detained in connection with the 
2011 and 2012 protests were sentenced to death on trumped-up charges related to 
their activism.

Amongst the 5 was Sheikh al-Nimr's nephew Ali al-Nimr who was 17 at the time of 
his arrest. He reported that he was tortured into "confessing."

(source: Amnesty International)

*********************

Prominent Shia Cleric Sentenced to Death----Legal Advocate Arrested Following 
Verdict


Saudi Arabia's harsh treatment of a prominent Shia cleric is only adding to the 
existing sectarian discord and unrest.Saudi Arabia's path to stability in the 
Eastern Province lies in ending systematic discrimination against Shia 
citizens, not in death sentences.

Saudi Arabia's Specialized Criminal Court sentenced a prominent Shia cleric to 
death on October 15, 2014. Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr was convicted on a host of vague 
charges, based largely on his peaceful criticism of Saudi officials. Al-Nimr 
has a wide following in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, where most of the 
country's Shia minority live.

The charges included "breaking allegiance with the ruler," "inciting sectarian 
strife," and supporting rioting and destruction of public property during 
2011-2012 protests in Shia-majority towns and cities. Al-Nimr was also charged 
with violently resisting arrest in July 2012. Human Right Watch was not able to 
determine if the conviction was based on these charges, which al-Nimr has 
disputed. The proceedings of Saudi Arabia's Specialized Criminal Court, which 
conducted the trial in 13 sessions over a year and a half, raise serious fair 
trial concerns, Human Rights Watch said.

"Saudi Arabia's harsh treatment of a prominent Shia cleric is only adding to 
the existing sectarian discord and unrest," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East 
director at Human Right Watch. "Saudi Arabia's path to stability in the Eastern 
Province lies in ending systematic discrimination against Shia citizens, not in 
death sentences."

Authorities arrested al-Nimr's brother and legal advocate, Mohamed al-Nimr, in 
the courtroom after he announced the verdict on Twitter. Human Rights Watch was 
not able to determine the reason for the arrest, but local activists said they 
believed it was to prevent him from speaking to the media about the trial.

The brother's tweet said that the court rejected prosecutors' request for a 
"crucifixion" sentence, the kingdom's harshest, in which the convicted person 
is beheaded and the decapitated body displayed in public.

Authorities arrested Nimr al-Nimr in June 2012 and held him for eight months 
before bringing charges, although the Interior Ministry had labeled him an 
"instigator of discord and rioting" after his arrest. Officials claimed that he 
resisted arrest and rammed a security force's vehicle, leading to a gun battle 
in which al-Nimr was wounded. Purported photos of the incident released by the 
local media show the wounded sheikh slumped in the back seat of a car wearing a 
bloodied white robe. A family member told Human Rights Watch that al-Nimr did 
not own a gun and that they dispute the claim that he resisted arrest.

Local activists and family members told Human Rights Watch that al-Nimr 
supported only peaceful protests and eschewed all violent opposition to the 
government. A 2011 BBC report quoted him as supporting "the roar of the word 
against authorities rather than weapons ... the weapon of the word is stronger 
than bullets, because authorities will profit from a battle of weapons." In 
another video available on YouTube, al-Nimr states, "It is not permitted to use 
weapons and spread corruption in society."

Local activists told Human Rights Watch that authorities held al-Nimr in an 
isolation cell in the Security Forces Prison Hospital in Riyadh for much of his 
time in detention. Family members who visited said that he was held in a 
windowless cell measuring 4-by-4 meters. Authorities did not allow al-Nimr to 
speak freely with visiting family members for the first 4 months, but since 
November 2013 immediate family members have been able to see him in his cell 
for an hour every 2 weeks.

Saudi Arabia systematically discriminates against its Shia citizens, who 
constitute 10 to 15 percent of the population. This discrimination reduces 
Shias' access to public education and government employment. They do not 
receive equal treatment under the justice system, especially with regard to 
religious freedom. Shia rarely receive permission to build mosques and, unlike 
their Sunni counterparts, do not receive government funds for religious 
activities.

Al-Nimr's arrest caused demonstrations in Awamiyya, a Shia village in the Qatif 
district that has been the site of anti-government demonstrations since 2011. 
Media reported that security forces shot and killed 2 demonstrators on the 
evening of al-Nimr's arrest.

The local activists, who asked not to be named for fear of arrest, said that 
al-Nimr had a strong following among Shia youth because of his outspoken 
criticism of government policies and advocacy of greater rights for the Shia. 
In late March 2009, al-Nimr suggested in a Friday sermon that the Shia might 
consider seceding from Saudi Arabia if the government continued to deny their 
rights. When security forces tried to detain him he went into hiding.

In June 2012, less than a month before his arrest, al-Nimr gave a Friday sermon 
following the death of Prince Nayef, the former interior minister. "Where is 
Nayef's army?" al-Nimr said. "Can they stop his death? Where is his secret 
police? Where are his officers? Can they stop his death so that worms won't eat 
him?"

Al-Nimr is the latest prominent Shia cleric to receive a harsh sentence from 
the Specialized Criminal Court. In August, the court convicted Tawfiq al-Amer 
for publicly demanding constitutional reforms and sentenced him to 8 years in 
prison and a 10-year ban on foreign travel and delivering sermons. The court 
had originally sentenced him to a 3-year prison term in December 2012, but an 
appeals court rejected that sentence as overly lenient.

Human Rights Watch has urged the Saudi authorities to abolish the Specialized 
Criminal Court, the body that convicted al-Nimr. The government set up the 
court in 2008 to try terrorism cases but has increasingly used it to prosecute 
peaceful dissidents on apparently politically motivated charges and in 
proceedings that violate the fundamental right to a fair trial.

A Human Rights Watch analysis in September of four trials of Shia protesters 
before the Specialized Criminal Court revealed serious due process concerns. 
They include broadly framed charges that do not resemble recognizable crimes, 
denial of access to lawyers at arrest and during pretrial detention, quick 
dismissal of allegations of torture without investigation, and admission as 
evidence confessions that defendants said were coerced without investigating 
their claims.

"Unfair trials of Shias amount to no more than a legal veneer for state 
repression of demands to end long-term discrimination," Stork said. "Saudi 
Arabia's judicial council should immediately review al-Nimr's verdict and quash 
it if they discover clear due process violations."

(source: Human Rights Watch)

********************

Death penalty for EP riot instigator


The instigator of a riot that broke out in Awamiya, Qatif, 2 years ago has been 
sentenced to death by a court in Riyadh.

The defendant, who was formally charged with instigating riots, fueling 
sectarianism, inciting dissidence and creating unrest with the help of 
terrorists on a list of 23 wanted suspects, had refused to show up at court 
hearings at first, but was eventually forced to attend to defend himself.

The group had tried to lure others to join and protect wanted terrorists, 
especially after several suspects had been arrested and confessed to their 
crimes.

The defendant had rammed his car into the back of a security patrol car as 
officers attempted to arrest a wanted suspect during the riot and then fled the 
scene.

Authorities determined that the car belonged to the suspect after catching the 
vehicle's license plate number.

The suspect was eventually arrested in a shootout with police and transferred 
to a military hospital in the Eastern Province.

The defendant had openly criticized the arrest of 9 criminals who had been 
found guilty of blowing up a residential complex in Alkhobar in 1995 and had 
called for fighting abroad.

The defendant refused to disclose details about the websites he had used, but 
admitted that he had met with several suspects on the wanted list at a mosque 
even after their names and photos had been published by the Interior Ministry.

Other charges against him included denouncement of the government, and pledging 
allegiance to the 12 imams of the Shiite creed.

The defendant took full responsibility for 9 speeches, which were recorded and 
published on the Internet, calling for youth to join terror groups and 
questioning the legitimacy of Gulf governments.

The defendant's lawyers objected to the ruling. They were given 30 days to 
appeal.

(source: Arab News)