Manama: A Chinese national was among 34 terror suspects arrested in Saudi Arabia last week, making him the first man from China to be held on terrorism charges.
The suspect was arrested on Saturday as the Saudi authorities conducted manhunt operations between June 11 and June 14 that allowed them to net 34 suspects, local daily Al Watan reported on Thursday.
Most of the suspects were Saudi nationals, but the list also included one Yemeni and one Palestinian.
According to the daily, 4,100 people are on the Saudi lists of suspects on terror linked charges.
Saudi Arabia has been waging a relentless fight against terrorists and extremists promoting fanatic ideologies under religious guises.
On Wednesday, a court in Riyadh sentenced 22 defendants to jail terms ranging between five and 17 years.
The defendants belonged to a 45-member terror cell, Al Watan said.
The court found them guilty of promoting an ideology that rejected the state and its leaders and religious scholars.
The defendants moved between extremists groups to meet their leaders and attend their teachings. They also trained on the use of weapons, the case papers said.
Some of the charges included taking $20,000 (Dh73,463) out of the country and handing the money to someone for suspicious purposes, causing chaos and riots inside a prison and not obeying orders, mixing with people with extremist ideologies and joining a fanatic group.
One defendant was charged with receiving paramilitary training ahead of moving to Iraq to fight while another defendant was found guilty of travelling to Afghanistan to join extremists.
