BREAKING NEWS

Saudi Arabia sentences writer, who called for political reform, to 4 years in jail

DUBAI - A Saudi tribunal has sentenced a writer who called for political reform to four years in prison and barred him from appearing in the media for 15 years, his family and Saudi media reported.
The Specialized Criminal Court (SCC), a tribunal established in 2008 to try terrorism cases, convicted Zuhair Kutbi on charges of sedition, inciting public opinion and reducing the government's prestige, Okaz newspaper said on Tuesday.
The court suspended half the sentence, bringing the time Kutbi must serve in prison down to two years, but also banned him from traveling for five years, fined him 100,000 Saudi riyal ($26,655.29) and mandated the deletion of his Twitter account.