Iran-linked spy sentenced to six years in Saudi Arabia

Manama: A court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced an Egyptian expatriate to six years in jail for spying for Iran.

The Specialised Criminal Court in the capital Riyadh also ruled a 5,000 Saudi riyal fine and the deportation of the defendant following his release, Saudi daily Al Riyadh reported on Tuesday.

The defendant was found guilty of obtaining illegally a confidential military document about the movement of a military convoy and details about the staff involved, including their numbers and ranks.

The Egyptian resident emailed the confidential document to the Iranian embassy in the Lebanese capital Beirut. He later received a response from the diplomatic mission in his email, the daily added.

In February, an espionage ring made up of 30 Saudis, one Afghan and one Iranian was put on trial in the same court on charges of direct links with the Iranian intelligence service and Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

The defendants were apprehended in Makkah, Madinah, Riyadh and the Eastern Province in 2013.