Decreasing imprisonment sentences against 70 ( Ismaeli ) Saudis
Saudi Arabia, Politics, 12/11/2002

Saudi Arabia's King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz gave his instructions to decrease sentences issued against 70 Saudis who follow al- Makarima ( Ismaeli ) sect.

Last Wednesday, the king ordered to reduce the imprisonment sentences against 17 members of this community from death penalty to 10 year imprisonment. This is, however, the first time in which Saudi Arabia indicate death penalty sentences following confrontation between and Ismaeli minority and the security forces that resulted in killing one persons and several wounded between police member in April 2000.

The Saudi daily Okaz said yesterday that the Saudi king also ordered to transfer the 70 prisoners from Riyadh prison to Najran prison, southern west of the country in order to facilitate the visit of their relatives.

The current spiritual leader of the Ismaeli community, al-Agha Khan Karin, denied the existence of members of his sect in Najran. However, researchers indicate that the Ismaelis of Najran are from another branch of this community and they do not follow al-Agha Khan and they name themselves ( al-Makaremah).

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