Two Saudi men get death sentence for killing four frenchmen in 2007

The Riyadh Criminal Court has handed out death sentences to two Saudis who were part of a 14-member cell behind the killing of four French citizens in Madinah in 2007.

On Feb. 26, 2007, the group attacked the French citizens 90 km from Madinah after they had stopped to rest during their road trip in the area. The attack resulted in the death of two men and two women. There were three women and two children in the group.

On March 2, the police announced they had found the car used in the attack. The leader of the group, Walid Al-Raddadi, was killed after a shootout with the police on April 6.

On April 18, the authorities announced they had captured eight Saudis who were directly linked to the perpetrators Abdullah Sayir Al-Muhammadi, Nasir Al-Bilawi and Majid Al-Harbi.

On May 27, 2007, the police announced they had captured Al-Harbi in a desert area 100 km south of Hail. On July 7, the police said they had captured Al-Bilawi in Al-Jouf. Then on Oct. 15, it was announced that the police captured Al-Muhammadi in an area northwest of Madinah. This meant that the police had captured all the suspects.

The trial of the men started on Dec. 29, 2011. The 14 defendants were charged with killing the four French people, threatening to shoot the French women with them, and for being members of a terrorist cell of Al-Qaeda.

The attorney general charged the first three defendants with directly participating in the killing. The other 11 defendants were charged with being members of a terrorist cell, and aiding and abetting the perpetrators before, during and after the attack.

They were also charged with harboring and financing the other cell members and aiding an attempt of the cell members to escape and leave the Kingdom.