RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, April 3 (UPI) -- The Saudi government said Sunday it has charged more than 5,000 people with terrorist offenses.
The Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution told Gulf News the total is 5,080, of which 2,215 have been referred to courts. Of those defendants, 1,612 have been sentenced and 603 are still on trial.
The agency said it was preparing to prosecute 934 suspects and still investigating another 1,931.
On Saturday, Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki of the Interior Ministry said the total number of people arrested on terror charges has reached 11,527, but about half of them were released.
"The law has given the right of compensation to those who have spent more time under arrest and detention than their jail sentences as decided by the court," Turki said.
He said all detainees have the right to a fair trial and will have counsel provided if they cannot afford it.
Mufleh bin Rubaian al-Qahtani, head of the non-governmental National Society for Human Rights, said, "We are looking forward to seeing the suspects not yet referred to court, to be either referred there or set free."
