A court in Saudi Arabia sentenced two well-known human rights activists to at least ten years in prison, finding them guilty of offences that included sedition and providing false information to foreign media.
The sentenced activists Mohammed al-Qahtani and Abdyllah Hamad, also the founding members of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA), were told that the ACPRA would be disbanded and have all its funds seized by the Saudi monarchy. The ACPRA group documents human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia and has called for a constitutional monarchy with democratic elections in the country.
International human rights groups have claimed that the Saudi government uses a false campaign against religious militants, to combat all types of political dissent.
The Saudi government denies the accusations, despite banning all demonstrations and political parties.
