RIYADH: The Custodain of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia has pardoned a radical Islamist scholar jailed over incitement against the ruler and sowing sedition, Al Hayat newspaper reported yesterday.
The monarch has “issued an order to release” Yusuf Al Ahmad, the brother of the preacher told the daily, citing the head of the royal court Khaled Al Tuwaijri.
In 2010, Ahmad issued a controversial fatwa in which he called for demolishing the Grand Mosque of Makkah to rebuild the massive structure in a way compliant with strict Saudi rule of segregation between sexes.
He was sentenced in April at a special court dealing with terror charges to five years in jail after being convicted of incitment against the ruler, sowing sedition, and harming national unity.
Several held in Iran over blogger’s death
TEHRAN: Tehran’s public prosecutor has announced the arrest of “several people” over the death in detention of blogger Sattar Beheshti, the Isna news agency reported yesterday. “Yesterday (Monday), several people were arrested,” Abbas Jafarabadi said, without elaborating. “When we learned about (Beheshti’s) death, we began an inquiry... We hope to make the findings public within the next 10 days,” he added.
The judiciary’s High Council of Human Rights said on Sunday that “all aspects of the case have been accurately investigated following a special order by judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani.”
Opposition activists say blogger Sattar Beheshti, who died on November 3 aged 35, was tortured to death in prison for criticising Iran’s regime on the Internet.
Two killed in shelling in South Kordofan
KHARTOUM: Two people appeared to have been killed yesterday in a new attack on the state capital of Sudan’s war-torn South Kordofan, a witness said. Rebels of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) confirmed they had fired on Kadugli town, in the latest barrage they say is retaliation for government air strikes against civilian property.
“Around 5:00 pm, shelling started on Kadugli and the bombs hit different areas of town, causing fear among the residents,” said the witness who asked for anonymity. He said he saw two people who appeared to be dead.
id. “For sure, we have shelled Kadugli.”Agencies
