RIYADH — A Saudi court sentenced a Yemeni man to death Sunday for a knife attack on a Spanish theater group, state television said.

The court also sentenced an accomplice to 12 and a half years in jail for the Nov. 11 attack during a live performance here, which state media linked to militant group Al-Qaeda.

"The criminal court issues a preliminary ruling handing the death sentence to the perpetrator of the terrorist attack... in Riyadh," Al-Ekhbariya television reported.

The assailant, identified by Saudi police as a 33-year-old Yemeni, went on a stabbing spree during a musical in the capital's King Abdullah Park, one of the venues hosting the two-month "Riyadh Season" entertainment festival.

Last week, Al-Ekhbariya said the attacker took orders from an Al-Qaeda leader in Yemen. — AFP