Special court convicts 23 terrorists

A special court for trying terror suspects in Riyadh convicted 23 members of two terror cells to serve varying prison terms Wednesday.
The court handed down verdicts to 18 members of a 21-member cell in the presence of the detainees.
The other cell has five members, one of whom is Egyptian. The verdicts of three defendants who were not in court yesterday will be issued at a later date.
The charges against the 21 defendants included embracing “takfiri” ideology (declaring others as infidels), possessing inflammatory literature, tapes and computer programs with the aim of spreading such an ideology, promoting terror attacks and issuing fatwas against rulers, in addition to possessing unlicensed weapons and ammunition.
They were also charged with undergoing firearm training with the aim of engaging in terror acts and involvement in terrorist financing.
The judge read out the verdicts of each suspect in the presence of the public prosecutor, the defendants and media personalities.
While one Egyptian convict is to be deported after serving his time, all other convicts were banned from traveling outside the country for periods equal to their respective prison terms.
One defendant was sentenced to 11 years from the date of detention, while four defendants were each sentenced to eight years of hard labor.
Four defendants were sentenced to seven years in prison, while three others were sentenced to nine years.
In addition, two were sentenced to six years, while three defendants were handed 10 years each.
In the second cell, one defendant was sentenced to 17 years in prison, one to 13 years, one to nine years and another to four years.
The Egyptian suspect to be deported was given the shortest sentence of three-and-a-half years.
The defendants are entitled to appeal their verdicts within a month of receiving their judgments.