Saudi Arabia has put 32 people on trial, including 30 members of its own Shi’ite Muslim minority, on charges of spying for Iran.
Advertisement
Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Iran final month in response to indignant demonstrations in entrance of its diplomatic missions within the two Iranian cities of Tehran and Mashhad.
The 32 accused include Saudi nationals from Al Qatif, an Iranian and an Afghan.
Tensions between the kingdom and Iran have strained even further following the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, which triggered protests in Iran and the ransacking of the Saudi Embassy there.
The spying allegations come after Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Tehran in January during a crisis between the regional rivals.
The Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution presented the charges on Sunday to Riyadh’s Specialized Criminal Court.
Iranian interference in the domestic affairs of countries across the Arab world have helped aggravate wars and political upheavals in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon and Bahrain.
Dissent is rarely tolerated in Saudi Arabia, and between 2011 and 2013 more than 20 people were shot dead by security forces and hundreds more detained.
The 32 are accused of high treason for working with Iranian intelligence, handing over defense secrets, committing economic sabotage, inciting sectarianism and working against community unity, according to local Saudi media.
Among those arrested in 2013 were an elderly university professor, a pediatrician, a banker and two clerics.
Advertisement
Saudi Arabia alleges that Iran has a 37-year record of spreading “sedition, unrest and chaos” in the region.
