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3 Who Questioned Saudi Government Jailed
(Reuters/Boston Globe) Dominic Evans - A Saudi court jailed three prominent academics Sunday for up to nine years for trying to sow dissent and challenge the royal family, dealing a blow to tentative overhauls in the absolute monarchy. The court sentenced Ali al-Dumaini to nine years in jail, Abdullah al-Hamed to seven years, and Matruk al-Faleh to six years. All three were arrested in March 2004 after petitioning the kingdom's rulers to move toward a constitutional monarchy and to speed political changes. The judges cited Faleh's criticism of Saudi Arabia's educational system, which he blamed for two years of violence by al-Qaeda supporters. Dumaini had ''incited [people] against the Wahhabi school" of Islam in Saudi Arabia, which critics contend is fostering anti-Western sentiment and militancy.