A Saudi lawyer accused of abusing the government and leadership has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. A criminal court in Jeddah also ordered him to pay a SR200,000 fine and prevented him from traveling abroad.

The man was convicted of trying to unseat the government, abusing the judicial system, mobilizing the support of international organizations against the Kingdom and giving statements that tarnish its image.

The public prosecutor’s charge sheet against the defendant also included the formation of an unlicensed society and becoming its president to issue false statements against Saudi Arabia.

The court issued its verdict against the man on the basis of Article 21 of the Terrorism and Terror Funding Law and Article 6 of the Information Crimes Law. The court ordered closing down the man’s website on the basis of Article 13 of the Information Crimes Law.

The public prosecutor opposed the verdict and the judge gave him a copy of the verdict for appeal within 30 days. “If the prosecutor fails to oppose the verdict within 30 days, it will be presented to the Court of Appeal for endorsement,” a statement said.

[wpResize]