News World Saudi Arabia adopts draconian anti-terror law

Saudi Arabia adopts draconian anti-terror law

Dubai:  A draconian anti-terror law was adopted by the council of ministers headed by Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on Monday which provides for extreme punishment for people involved in aiding and abetting



It also covers actions endangering national unity, disabling the country's basic law or some of its articles, defaming the state or its reputation, causing damage to one of the state's facilities or natural resources, attempting to force one of its agencies to take undesired actions, threatening to carry out actions leading to the aforementioned goals, or inciting others to commit these crimes.

The law specifies the procedures to deal with a terror suspect or terror financier.

The Minister of Interior is empowered to provide immunity from prosecution for any person who reports such crimes and cooperates with the authorities during such investigations.

The minister is also allowed to free a sentenced person from jail for cooperating with the government.

Meanwhile, the US has sent two detainees being held at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility back to Saudi Arabia, the Pentagon said on Monday.

Saad Muhammad Husayn Al-Qahtani and Hamood Abdullah Hamood had been held at the Guantanamo facility in Cuba since 2002. They were not charged with a crime. Hamood, 48, was initially listed as a Yemeni national.

Al-Qahtani, 35, told US investigators he was a student who went to Afghanistan in April 2001.

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