Dubai: Saudi Arabia has put on trial a doctor for joining terror groups in Syria.
Charges reviewed by the court at its first session on Sunday in the Saudi capital Riyadh included supporting terrorist organisations involved in the fighting in conflict zones, empathy with them, traveling to Syria to treat the wounded and meeting with the leaders and ideologues of terror groups there, Saudi daily Okaz reported on Monday.
The Public Prosecution accused the defendant of setting up an account on the Twitter microblog in order to communicate with the coordinators and travel to combat zones.
He also stored on his mobile phone videos and audio recordings likely to disrupt public order by inciting people to travel to combat zones abroad, as well as pictures of people fighting in Syria and photos of the firearms they were using.
The accused was also charged with failing to report the names of people who were coordinating the departure of “fighters” willing to join terror groups abroad and the possession of a machinegun that he sold in Syria upon his decision to return home.
The prosecutor during the trial called for inflicting a stringent penalty on the defendant that would deter him or anyone from traveling abroad to join terror groups, the shutting down of his Twitter account, confiscating the money found with him and banning him from making any trip.
Saudi Arabia has been actively engaged in a relentless fight against people who joined or wanted to join terror groups.
On Wednesday, a court in Riyadh condemned a Daesh supporter to seven years in jail for his contacts with the terror group to organise his trip to Syria.
The defendant reportedly communicated through a social media platform with a senior member of the group to inform him he was ready to carry out a terrorist attack and wanted help to reach Syria.
He was also found guilty of storing audio recordings supporting Daesh as well as pictures of some of its members.
The court said that the defendant would not be allowed to leave Saudi Arabia for seven years following his release from prison.