Saudi court sentences 15 to death for spying for Iran


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A Saudi court sentenced 15 people to death on Tuesday after convicting them of spying for Iran.

The specialised criminal court in Riyadh sentenced 15 others to prison terms ranging from six months to 25 years, and acquitted two, the Arabic-language Al Riyadh newspaper reported.

The defendants, comprising 30 Saudi Shiite Muslims, one Iranian and an Afghan, were detained in 2013 on charges of spying for Iran and went on trial in February.

The rulings are subject to appeal, and death sentences must go to the king for ratification.

The trial is the first in recent memory in which Saudi citizens have been accused of spying.

Many of the suspects are former employees of the Saudi defence and interior ministries, Saudi media said.

They were accused of setting up a spy ring and passing sensitive military and security information to Iran, seeking to sabotage Saudi economic interests, undermining community cohesion and inciting sectarian strife.

The charges also included supporting protests in the Eastern Province, recruiting others for espionage, sending encrypted reports to Iranian intelligence via email and committing high treason against the king.

Among those arrested in 2013 were an elderly university professor, a paediatrician, a banker and two imams.

Most were from Al Ahsa, Eastern Province, a mixed Shiite and Sunni region that is home to around half the members of the kingdom’s minority Shiite community.

Saudi Arabia has blamed sporadic unrest among Shiites in the Eastern Province on Iran, but has never publicly presented evidence of a direct link between Tehran and those who took part in protests between 2011 and 2013. Iran denies any involvement.

In January, Saudi Arabia executed a prominent Shiite imam convicted of involvement in the killing of policemen, prompting protesters to storm the Saudi embassy in Tehran. Riyadh then broke off diplomatic ties.

* Reuters

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