Saudi Prof Jailed for Criticising US and Israel

[ken hanly <khanly@xxxxxxx>]

Saudi Professor Sentenced for Speaking Out

Sun Sep 19, 8:35 AM ET

By ABDULLAH AL-SHIHRI, Associated Press Writer

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - A Saudi court sentenced a university professor to
five years in prison Sunday on charges of sowing dissent after he compared
U.S. killings of Iraqi civilians to Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s
terror attacks.



Saeed bin Mubarak al-Zaeer, a 57-year-old university professor, was
sentenced by the court in the capital Riyadh. The sentencing took place
without the presence of a lawyer representing al-Zaeer.


Al-Zaeer was detained by security forces in April after he appeared on the
Al-Jazeera television station and made comments comparing the killing of
civilians in terror attacks by bin Laden's al-Qaida group with Iraqi
civilians killed by U.S. forces or Palestinians killed by Israelis.


The professor was detained in April for showing "blatant support and
compassion for terrorist acts, and his justification of the deeds of its
perpetrators - in spite of how this goes against Islamic teachings," the
Interior Ministry said at the time.


The court convicted Al-Zaeer of "sowing dissent and inciting sedition
against the rulers." His sentence begins immediately and time served will be
included.


Al-Zaeer's son, Mubarak, was detained in May for appearing on Al-Jazeera to
denounce his father's arrest. He was released that same month after signing
a statement pledging not to comment to the media.


The kingdom has since launched a high-profile crackdown on terrorists and
extremist clerics and repeatedly has warned Saudis not to support terrorists
in word or deed.


Saudi Arabia has witnessed several terror attacks in the past year that have
killed more than 60 people. Most of the attacks were blamed on bin Laden's
al-Qaida network.


Al-Zaeer is a professor of mass communications who has called for greater
transparency within the closely state-monitored Saudi clergy. He previously
spent eight years in jail without charges before being released in March
2003.