Manama: Three Saudis have been referred to a specialised court on charges of “incitement, provoking sedition and calling for [disobedience against] the ruler of the country.”
The charges were levelled following an investigation into a series of tweets posted on Twitter, local daily Al Eqtisadiya reported on Tuesday.
The three men will be the first bloggers to be tried under a newly approved terrorism-related list of offences announced by the Interior Ministry.
The list makes it criminal to participate in or call for or encourage — through fatwas (edicts) — fighting in other countries.
Supporting, promoting or sympathising with groups, movements, gatherings or parties and holding meetings under their banners has been prohibited, both in Saudi Arabia and abroad.
This includes participating in all broadcast, print or visual media and social networks and websites associated with such groups.
Saudi Arabia has embarked on a campaign to discourage its citizens from participating in fighting in Syria and other regions.
In February, King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud issued a royal decree sentencing Saudis getting involved in conflicts outside the kingdom to prison sentences ranging from three to 20 years in jail.
The Saudi Royal Court warned that any Saudi citizen who joins extremist terrorist groups or supports them materially or through incitement would face jail terms ranging between five and 30 years.
According to local reports, several young Saudi men had been encouraged to join the fight in Syria by influential Saudi religious figures.
