A Saudi court has sentenced Yussef al-Ahmad, a cleric who supports the segregation of sexes, to five years in prison, a five-year travel ban, and a fine of 100,000 Saudi riyals for incitement against the rulers. He had been arrested for disobedience to the rulers and incitement against them, which included calling for the destruction of the Grand Mosque, home to the Holy Kaaba, and rebuilding it in a way that would make it impossible for men and women to mix during pilgrimages. He was also charged with blaming King Abdullah and other officials for the lengthy periods that people in Saudi Arabia could be detained without trial in a YouTube video. Meanwhile, Saad al-Faqih, who is widely recognized as the only serious opposition to the House of Saud, was imprisoned for his heavy involvement in the country's reform movement. After his release, he became the director of the London office of the Committee for the Defense of Legitimate Rights (CDLR), but he left to form the Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia (MIRA) in 1996. Al-Faqih is also a leading expert on al-Qaeda and Salafi-jihadism. BBC Radio's Five Live Report revealed that Saad Al-Fagih, a key figure in the London-based campaign opposed to the Saudi regime, bought a satellite phone that was later used by Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization. Al-Masari, another Saudi dissident, has talked with and helped Osama Bin Laden in the past and would do so again. There is no suggestion that the MP, George Galloway, who had a row after being called an apologist for Saddam Hussein by a government minister, knew about the purchase of the satellite phone.
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