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Subscribe to RSSRIYADH -- A Saudi Arabian court has sentenced two prominent political and human rights activists to at least 10 years in prison for offenses that included sedition and giving inaccurate information to foreign media.
Mohammed Fahd al-Qahtani and Abdullah Hamad are founding members of the banned Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association, known as Acpra, that documents human rights abuses.
Qahtani was sentenced to 10 years. Hamad was told he must complete the remaining six years of a previous jail term for his political activities and serve an additional five years.
They will remain in detention until a judge rules on their appeal next month.
Saturday's trial was open to the press and public, in what Saudi activists had described as a step forward for rights even as they decried the verdict.
More than 100 people attended the hearing on Saturday morning, mostly supporters and relatives of the defendants. More than 20 security officers were also present in the room, prompting a protest from the defendants' lawyer.
Politically motivated?
Acpra will also be disbanded and its funds confiscated, the judge ruled.
Last year, a court in Jeddah sentenced Acpra member Mohammad al-Bajadi to four years in prison. Another of the group's founders, Abdulkarim al-Khathar is on trial in Buraidah.
After the verdict, the police cleared the public from the court room as supporters of Qahtani and Hamad shouted that the trial was politically motivated.
On Thursday, an Interior Ministry spokesman said that activists, whom he did not name, had tried to stir up protests in the world's top oil exporting country by spreading "false information" on social media.
Qahtani said in January he had never been to prison but thought he was "psychologically ready" for it, and that his family, who are in the United States where his wife is attending university, were also prepared.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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ok.
At least you don't have to be watched by those pigs when you are lying on your own bed inside your own bedroom, right? Who would want to live in that worse a country?
OMG. I do not know who you are behind the Miss Piggy facade...but would you please go to school and become educated since you demand to be in our faces every day spewing your nonsensical statements, please?
Learn about sentence structure and grammar, effective writing, and the use of written English.
I believe it is safe to say that many people will be grateful if you do.
Somehow Bush II had a blind eye looking at Saudi Arabia when it came to invading and conquering a foreign country in his back stepped supporting democracy in Iraq.
Putting lipstick on the pig is as good as pretending the Saudis are part of Western civilization.
The saudis are bedouin arabs who still behave in pre-hsitoric ways. The problem lies in the fact that the saudi family and the bush family are partners in business and co-own the carlyle group which makes the bradley fighting vehicle.
The saudi family will protect its reign of terror and sexual filth as long as america protects them. As long as these relationships exist and they are in extreme conflict of interest, we will apparently continue to protect the saudi family and whatever sick activities they participate in.
This is just political persecution. Imagine that they;ve actually executed citizens from other poor countries like india and the philipines.
Nowadays, this sick wahabi cult of a family is attempting to BUY the destruction of Syria. OUTRIGHT! One day, the good Arabs of the fertile crescent will put the gulf bedouin arabs back in their place and out into the wilderness again ...
Wanna know more about the saudi family, watch the beverly hillbillies !!!!
House of Saud, a strict Wahhabi, is not even tolerating Prophet Mohammad’s heritage places.
House of Saud consists of a megalomaniac, despotic and bigoted ruler and highly corrupt, despotic, bigoted seventh century mindset 5000 princes and princesses.
These maniacs of all kinds have assembled huge battalions of girls and women from all over the world.
House of Saud are the real culprits in the fast backward march of Islam through their Sunni one-way traffic hating and killing fronts like Salaffi, Wahhabi, MB, al Qaida, Taliban and other ones operating under different labels in different nation.
In Mecca, the house of one of the wives of Mohammed was demolished and converted into public lavatories. Mohammed’s birth place may vanish with plans to have skyscrapers, mega shopping malls and a Grand mosque!
In Medina, ten years ago a mosque of grandson of Mohammed was dynamited and the religious police were celebrating on this. There are plans to pull down three seventh century mosques in future.
Cheap politicians sold out to oil companies, nut case Jewish lobbys, Christian right and their lobbyists can't save the barbaric and beastly seventh century mindset oil rich Sunni rulers of House of Saud, Kuwait, UAE and other Arab League nations for long.
Only extreme nuts cases like the oil rich Sunni rulers can do what they are doing!
Even Allah may not like to save them.
Just remember and never forget that these are the real planners of 9/11. Anyone that believes BinLadden was acting alone is nuts.
The Saudis would rather prosecute human rights activists than terrorists. What do suppose the Saudis are afraid of? Could it be the truth about who they really are.
I wonder what will happen when we no longer need their oil. Will we still tolerate these 9th century barbarians and their funding of Islamic terrorist groups around the world.
I think the pig is right, it is Bush's fault...
The fact the the press calls them "activists" and they work with a group with "civil and political rights" in its name doesn't mean that they were not guilty of spreading "false information"
The trial was open to the public so, I would think, that the press could report the facts upon which the charges were brought. I would like to know the facts not someone's unfounded, unsupported conclusion.
at least they weren't beheaded.........
or stoned? Oh, marijuana is not legal there..so ...no chance of that.
The Saudis will once again be desert nomads once the oil dwindles.
As long as they have oil to sell, they will do as they please.
One big happy party.
I hope they remember how to saddle a horse and ride a camel.
At the moment they don't even wipe their own asses.
There is a servant for that.
"Mohammed Fahd al-Qahtani and Abdullah Hamad are founding members of the banned Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association, known as Acpra, that documents human rights abuses."
Bushes, oil companies, extremist Jews, Christian right and their lobbyists saved bigoted Sunni rulers of House of Saud, Kuwait and some more Sunni Arab League nations from Saddam.
ME oil rich Sunni rulers and their gangs of sheikhs are seventh century desert mindset bigoted barbarians.
9/11 had Saudi and Paki hands. That was payback for 1991 Iraqi war.
Again the same bunch of Bushes and co were responsible for Iraqi war of 2003, high oil price manipulations and economic mess all over.
Now the US, British, France, Germany and others are badly crippled and slowly getting isolated.
Economic mess, lots of injured and killed soldiers and loss of face are payback for 2003 Iraqi war.
House of Saud and extremist Sunni Islamists are not going to survive for long!
Tragic story but, as is so often the case, there seems to be a great deal of information missing.
Mr. al-Qahtani and Mr. Hamad are heroes bucking the house of Saud with their organization. It's a shame that it is about to be disbanded with funds confiscated. If the Saudis are so worried about their human rights record, why don't they try to change it or is that too much to ask???
That is going to work out well. Heck, another organization has probably already sprung up overnight.
Sounds like a "freedom of speech" issue, similar to the Director of the "video" which supposedly caused the riots (Ambassador Rice....et al) and is still being held in an American jail. So, looks like this might be spreading around the World.
Maybe another Progressive target: "Freedom of speech" (TV, Radio, newspapers) to go along with "Net Neutrality".
Watch the terrorist organization, United Nations, come up with another Global Initiative.
Please do not worry.......................
Secratary of State John Kerry (who served in vietnam) was there to assure us all that, only the moderates will get weapons in Syria.
I am sure the united nations would just love to help but, at this point in time they have their hands full. Bon Ki Moon is just way to busy worrying about how much R-22 is being used in India. Added to that, how could he find the time with the great issue of how the united nations can levy a carbon tax on the world.
Most of the politicians like Hillarys, Bills, Kerrys, McCains, Libermanns, Netanyahu, Christian rights and their gangsters all talk big about women rights, human rights, democratic rights, freedom of expressions, religious rights and so on.
All the UN and agencies talk and dance equally well with all big words.
But when they come to oil rich Sunni rulers led by House of Saud, then everyone goes to silence mode.
More disgraceful is that when big talking and dancing politicians and UN officials meet oir rich Sunni rulers, they dress and act like them!
Can there be bigger disgraces in human history of being sold dam*n cheap?
Well put, the U.S. State Dept. will not raise a finger in protest. The U.S. administration is a bunch of hypocrites.
Well Dan, how would you feel if another country began interfering in our internal affairs?
You people are ridiculous!
For some reason, this conjured up a memory of the police before the 70's telling abused woman in America that they could not interfere in family affairs. Thankfully, we fought back and everyone now knows the difference between right and wrong.
Saudi Arabia sucks. Hopefully it crumbles soon.
At the earliest for world peace and economic stability.
"A Saudi Arabian court has sentenced two prominent political and human rights activists to at least 10 years in prison for offenses that included sedition and giving inaccurate information to foreign media."
This is how Sharia laws and their courts function!
This A-Rab crap has to come to an end and soon.
It doesn't matter if you voted for the democrats, republicans or didn't vote at all...
Please raise your hands all those who believe that the great defender of human rights and democracy and all that jazz around the world, the USofA, will jeopardize their relation with the saudis and do anything meaningful on behalf of these activists...
Saudi could care less about human rights. I join in all others spitting on their decision and throwing my shoes at their Princes, Kings, "Courts" and "judges". May the fleas of a thousand camels infect your arm pits.
LOL
Now if they could just get the rest of the royal family in prison, possibly throw a hot camel in the cell?
I don't think they allow sex in their jails, so no camel, or goat.
I am SO glad the Saudis are our allies. Just think how much worse off we would be if we had to ally ourselves with participants in the 21st century....
If Saudis and Pakis are allies, then one does not need enemies.
Despite US, British and western politicians, oil companies and their lobbyists help, many oil rich Sunni rulers are going to be wiped out sooner or later.
The Islamic extremist Frankenstein monsters are doing hara-kari!
Just go on watching the turn of events.
Followers of Islamic cult, especially House of Saud and other Sunni ME rulers inspired and funded Sunni Islamic radicals and militants (al-Qaida, Salaffi, Wahhabi, MB, Taliban and other label ones), are fast marching backwards to their seventh century desert tribal days.
They are indulging in rapings, lootings, killings and genocides of non-Muslims (Darfur, S. Sudan, Nigeria and spreading like wild fire in many regions and Muslims (Libya, Yemen, Mali, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other places).
Pakis and Sunni rulers of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE and other Sunni Arab League nations are responsible for 80 percent of world problems including economic ones.
Examine the devastations with Iraqi wars and now sanctions on Iranian oil and the resultant oil price manipulations.
The Islamic extremist Frankenstein monsters are doing hara-kari!
now that's funny!
mpa: In Pakistan, the very Islamic extremists are blowing up Muslims by inventing stories/fantasies and then killing.
A good number of Muslims have been killed by suicide bombings and other style killings.
When Islamic extremism and Islamic heroin drug addiction cross limits, sometimes, they kill those who invented, supported and in some cases, exported them!
It will not be much different in Saudi Arabia and other Sunni nations as the time goes by.
I thought you libs valued diversity and I suppose you do, except for those who disagree with you. There are other countries and other cultures and other value systems that find what we have abhorrent. They don't want to be like us. That's fine with me. I don't want to be like them.
But it is a small world. We should try to get along. And remember, we have made great societal changes form within. No outside country held a gun to our head to end slavery or give women the right to vote. If given time, I think the same thing would happen in other countries.
We value the diversity of FREE people, not a diversity in the forms of oppression, misogyny, and authoritarianism.
JSF... And if a FREE people choose oppression and authoritarianism, will you still value them? That seems to be what the Egyptians have done. And, we helped.
America jails civil rights activists on fabricated charges or fictitious allegations. So - if you see someone serially arrested over a long period of time, but the cases are dismissed all the time - chances are...that's an activist for civil rights or one that opposes the president's agenda but is being targeted for terror by his administration. Especially if there is no mental illness or no drug offenses or no other real actual crime committed.
Thought I'd share that little but significant bit of knowledge with my fellow Americans, this Sunday morning.
Ahhhh yes, Saudia Arabia. The country where all the 911 terrorists came from and the country that still preaches hate for America in their schools. The country we let Thousands and thousands of students come here on visas just like we did with the 911 terrorists. Instead of attacking Saudia Arabia after 911 Bush instead in order to divert attention attacks Iraq which had nothing to do with 911. The Saudias are no friend of ours and we should let the Islamists take over that country which they could very easily if we didn't protect them. It is a backwards country that just happens to have oil which we should be getting for free because of the attacks.
Why are the GOP & Saudi Arabia such good friends? No Equal Rights for Women & No Religious Freedom (oh, and BIG OIL pays the Republicans a Salary in return for blood money - dead U.S. soldiers in the Middle East).
Obama has been shaking up the Middle East lately. He has shown it is far easier to fight an ally than an enemy. I wonder if he'll destabilize the Saudis next.
Coming soon to a red state near you...
Actually it's blue state people that refuse to criticize Islam and its associated oppression, how's that Arab Spring and the "democracy" that it brought working out for everyone?