JEDDAH: A special criminal court in Riyadh began the trial of 14 suspects accused of murdering four Frenchies and threatening their women.They are also accused of supporting Al-Qaeda terrorist organization and carrying out a number of other crimes.
The trial, which was attended by a French consul and two relatives of the victims, saw the public prosecutor reading out the charges against the 14 defendants.
The first three defendants were accused of being directly involved in the murder that took place in a desert area about 90 km north of Madinah in 2007.
| Note the date...err, the year, anyway. |
During the session, the prosecutor explained the various roles played by the defendants in the crime. They are also accused of opening fire against security officers, seizing cars of citizens at gunpoint and taking money from the ATMs of Saudi-American and Saudi-British banks and possessing weapons and explosives.
The prosecutor accused six defendants of providing shelter to Walid Al-Radadi, leader of the terror cell, and trying to smuggle him out of the Kingdom when his names appeared on a list of 36 wanted terrorists, two years before the attack on the victims.
Seven defendants are accused of possessing and using hashish. Arab News has learned that the seven used to meet to take drugs. One of them had acknowledged that he had once bought hashish for SR900.
Mansour Al-Qafari, a front man of the Justice Ministry, said Defendant No. 1 is accused of killing four French men and threatening to kill their women. He also tried to kill another European while he was coming out of a factory in the Industrial City of Jubail. He had also opened fire on two vehicles of the intelligence department. He had taken away eight vehicles at gunpoint. He is also accused of giving protection to Walid Al-Radadi and supporting Al-Qaeda.
Defendant No. 2 is accused of playing a part in the murder, stealing a vehicle, possessing weapons and explosives and giving religious edicts against Saudi rulers. Apart from participating in the murder, Defendant No. 3 faces charges such as stealing vehicles, taking Al-Radadi to Madinah to provide him shelter and adopting a takfir
...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed...
ideology, branding opponents as infidels.
Defendant No. 4 is accused of giving shelter to Al-Radadi at his house four times, financing terror, possessing guns and recruiting young men to the terror cell. Defendant No. 5 is accused of taking the murderers to his home after the crime, financing terror and getting involved in trading weapons. The remaining defendants are accused of supporting the murderers to carry out the crime, financing terror and possessing weapons.
The crime took place on Feb. 26, 2007 when the forces of Evil opened fire on two French families comprised of four men, three women and two children while they were resting in a desert area near the village of Maleh in the Madinah province. As a result of the gun attack two French men was struck down in his prime while two others died in hospital.
After eight days following the murder, security officers identified two suspects -- Abdullah Sayer Al-Muhammadi and Nasser bin Lateef Al-Balawi -- and asked them to report to the nearest cop shoppe within 12 hours. Five days later police found the vehicle used for the attack. On April 6, 2007, Al-Radadi was killed in Madinah during a shootout with security forces.
| That was a while ago. The mills of justice grind exceedly slowly in the Magic Kingdom. |