Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — A Riyadh court on Monday awarded jail term to a Saudi woman convicted for involvement in crimes that target the Kingdom’s internal security and incitement to change the Kingdom’s ruling system.

She was also found guilty of serving a foreign agenda inside the Kingdom through online activity. The convict and the prosecution can appeal the sentence within 30 days, Okaz reported.

The Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh sentenced the woman defendant to five years and eight months in prison, effective from the date of her detention.

The verdict included the suspension of two years and 10 months of the jail term, facilitating the convict to correct her ways and paving the way for her rehabilitation and not returning to committing crimes.

The court ruled that the suspension of the sentence would be considered null and void if she commits any crime in the coming three years.

The presiding judge pronounced the verdict in a public session attended by a number of media persons as well as her relatives and representative of the Human Rights Commission (HRC).

The court convicted the defendant of several charges, the foremost of which was the incitement to change the Kingdom’s Basic System of Governance, and the pursuit of serving an external agenda within the Kingdom using the Internet to support that agenda with the aim of undermining the public order.

The list of convictions also included the detainees’ cooperation with a number of individuals and entities that had committed criminal acts under the Combating Terrorism Crimes and its Financing Law.

During the session, the presiding judge stated that the judgment issued against the defendant was based on the evidence showing that she had committed criminal acts under Articles 43 and 53 of the Combating Terrorism Crimes and Its Financing Law.

The court also ruled the confiscation of electronic devices and means of media used by the defendant in committing the crimes. The judge stated that the defendant admitted committing the charges filed against her, and that her confessions were documented voluntarily without coercion.