By ABDULLAH AL-SHIHRI
Source: Yahoo News
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi
Arabia's King Abdullah issued a royal decree on Monday that punishes
citizens who fight in conflicts outside the kingdom, with prison
sentences ranging from three to 20 years in jail.
The statement
issued by the Saudi Royal Court also says that any Saudi citizen who
joins extremist terrorist groups or supports them materially or through
incitement would face an even harsher punishment ranging from five to 30
years in jail.
The decree
appeared aimed at stemming the flow of Saudi fighters going to Syria.
The region's civil war is believed to have drawn hundreds of young
Saudis, worrying some in the kingdom that fighters could return
radicalized and turn their weapons on the monarchy.
The
statement said it is the Saudi government's duty to block actions and
language that harm public security and stability by exposing the nation
to danger and "damaging the status of the kingdom" Islamically,
internationally and among Arabs. Saudi Arabia is home to two of Islam's
holiest sites.
Many young
Saudi men appear to have been encouraged to join the fight in Syria by
influential Saudi clerics who follow the kingdom's ultraconservative
religious Wahhabi doctrine and view the war as a struggle between
Syria's Sunni majority and President Bashar Assad's Alawite,
Shiite-backed minority.
The
uprising against Assad has transformed into a regional proxy war between
Iran and Saudi Arabia, which support opposing sides. Foreign fighters
and Islamic extremists have infiltrated the opposition, triggering
infighting that has undermined the rebellion.
Saudi officials and key
high-level clerics have largely spoken out against young Saudis joining
the fight. While the Saudi government backs some rebel opposition groups
in Syria with weapons and aid, officials say Riyadh does not fund
al-Qaida-linked groups.
A key
Saudi opposition group, Saudi Association for Civil and Political
Rights, known in Arabic by its acronym HASEM, said in a statement last
week that Saudi rulers are responsible for encouraging extremist
ideology in the kingdom in exchange for retaining power and support from
the religious establishment. The group said the kingdom secretly
tolerates citizens fighting abroad to keep them from carrying out
attacks in Saudi Arabia.
The
decree comes after a sweeping new counterterrorism law came into effect
in the kingdom Sunday that activists say targets virtually any criticism
of the government.
"This
disturbing new law confirms our worst fears - that the Saudi Arabian
authorities are seeking legal cover to entrench their ability to crack
down on peaceful dissent and silence human rights defenders," said Said
Boumedouha, Middle East Deputy Director at Amnesty International, in a
statement.
___
Aya Batrawy contributed from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
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