The Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) in Riyadh issued a preliminary imprisonment sentences against two Saudis for planning terrorist acts that target oil pipelines in the western part of the Kingdom.
The court sentenced the first man to 25 years in prison and the second one to 22 years after they were found guilty of joining the terrorist organization of Iraqi Kata’ib Hezbollah and its military camps in Iran and Iraq.
The two citizens were found guilty of training in the use of weapons, explosives and grenades to carry out terrorist acts in the Kingdom to destabilize national security and create chaos.
The perpetrators sought to dismantle the unity of the Kingdom and waste its capabilities, in accordance with the directives of Iraqi Hezbollah officials and their willingness to carry out terrorist acts inside Saudi Arabia.
They were caught communicating with a man in Iran on social media and providing him with information on the oil pipelines linking Abqaiq and Yanbu.
One person in Iran supported one of the accused by providing him with money to facilitate his visit to Tehran and secure his transportation there, in order for him to join training camps in the country, aiming at destabilizing Saudi Arabia.
SCC sentenced the first man to 25 years in prison, seized his mobile phone and banned him from traveling for 25 years after he finishes his sentence.
It sentenced the second man to 22 years in prison, seized his two mobile phones and banned him from traveling for 22 years after he finishes his sentence.
Kata’ib Hezbollah was established in 2007 to resist the US occupation back then.
Its role is similar to that of Hezbollah in Lebanon and has been influenced by its style of action. It also believes in the rule of the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist in Iran.
Iran has been hosting a number of terrorist commanders, who were involved in attacks against the eastern city of al-Khobar in 1996, bombings in eastern Riyadh in 2003 as well as sabotage operations targeting Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Afghanistan.
Saudi Arabia has earlier arrested Saudis who formed a spy cell for Iran and contacted Iranian leaders to target Saudi Arabia's security and economy, following direct contacts with the mission of the Iranian embassy in Riyadh, its consulate in Jeddah and its delegate to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
Iran has helped the Houthi militias to overthrow the legitimacy of the Yemeni government by providing them with weapons to control the country's outskirts and continue to smuggle weapons and ballistic missiles to the rebels.
