Saudi- Academic denies terror charges 

(MENAFN - Arab News) A special criminal court in Riyadh on Wednesday heard the replies of a Saudi academic accused of supporting Al-Qaeda terrorist organization, embracing the takfiri (branding opponents infidels) ideology of the Kharigites, abusing Saudi Islamic scholars and funding terrorist operations.

In the previous session, which was held on Oct. 26, the public prosecutor had read out the charges against the academic, who had refused to attend three previous sessions. He is also accused of instigating militants to bomb a refinery in the eastern city of Abqaiq. The defendant has vehemently denied the charges.

The attack on the Abqaiq refinery led to the death a number of security officers. The militants also set off to bomb two other oil installations using explosive-laden cars. The academic is accused of recruiting a militant and convincing him to follow the takfiri ideology and participating in the Abqaiq refinery attack.

The defendant is also accused of recruiting a security officer and another militant to join Al-Qaeda. "The academic has denied all the allegations made against him by the prosecutor," a judicial source told Arab News. The defendant replied to the charges leveled against him in a clear and transparent manner, the source said.

The defendant said he had never showed any disobedience to the Kingdom's rulers and never instigated people to disrespect Saudi Islamic scholars. "How can I do that when I consider them as my teachers," he asked. He also said that he had not branded the Saudi government or rulers as infidels as accused by the prosecutor. He said he had never supported Al-Qaeda and was not aware of the terrorist attack on Abqaiq refinery.

The judge asked the defendant why his sons were not visiting him in prison, to which the defendant replied that he had asked them not to visit as he did not want them to see him inside a prison. Although the prison authorities had allowed visits for his family members, he prevented them from coming to the prison for two-and-a-half years.

The hearing was attended by seven of the defendant's sons as well as representatives of the Human Rights Commission. The next session will be held in the middle of next month for the prosecutor to present his evidence against the academic. The judge also asked the defendant to meet his sons in order to give them a chance to convince him on allowing them to visit him in the prison.

He was first arrested in 1995 and was released in 2003 before being arrested again in 2007. The defendant was a professor of information at Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh.