Saudi to boost number of judges in ‘Qaeda’ courts

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Five judges will be added to the courts trying Al Qaeda-linked suspects on charges of bombings and other attacks, bringing the total to 12, Al Watan reported, citing a top judiciary official.

“We need to increase the number of judges,” Saleh bin Humaid, head of the Supreme Judiciary Council, told a press conference.

“The small number of judges is an obstacle to the speedy management of cases.”

According to Saudi rights activists, the government began secret tribunals for nearly 1,000 suspected militants early this year, most of them believed linked to attacks across the country during 2003-2005.

In a petition sent to King Abdullah and other leaders in May, 77 activists and legal experts criticised secret “ad hoc security courts,” calling them unfair and questioning any judgements reached by them.

“We are calling for fair and public trials, otherwise it is impossible to mete out justice,” the activists wrote.

Al Watan did not give details of how many militant cases are pending, but referred to a backlog of some 1,200 that cannot be handled by the general courts.

 

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