JEDDAH: The Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh on Tuesday sentenced a Saudi to 15 years in prison after being found guilty of participating in riots in 2012 by attending demonstrations and rallies contrary to public order in the city of Al-Awamiya in Qatif province.
The charges include repeating slogans hostile to the state in order to disturb the security, and inciting some of his relatives to these acts by sending and resending messages from his personal BlackBerry to all his addressees, including warning of the presence of security men in some places for fear of arrest.
He was also found guilty of confronting security authorities and threatening to carry out terrorist acts during the execution of a person sentenced to death in a security case; not informing police about his knowledge that one of his relatives and another person were trading arms without a license, and that his relative was carrying an unlicensed machine gun and gun.
The defendant declined to inform police about his knowledge that one of his relatives was communicating with others via the Zello application to follow the movements of security and foreign vehicles entering Al-Awamiyah to target the security forces. The defendant traveled to Iran and then entered Iraq and joined training camps where he was trained for three days to unpack and install weapons.
Among the charges were supporting terrorism by receiving the amount of SR1,500 ($400) from a relative before traveling to help him travel, and possession of a gun without a license in defense of himself after a group of masked people attempted to kidnap him.
Having taken into account the provisions of the regulations and instructions concerning the prosecution of juveniles, the Court sentenced the defendant to 15 years in prison starting from the date of arrest in this case.
The court also decided that his BlackBerry phone should be confiscated and that he should be prevented from traveling outside the Kingdom for a period similar to the prison sentence imposed after the end of the sentence and his release from prison.
15-year sentence for 2012 Qatif rioter who instigated violence and trained in Iraq
15-year sentence for 2012 Qatif rioter who instigated violence and trained in Iraq
French architecture firm Unanime to expand Saudi Arabia operations
- Healthcare infrastructure projects include Riyadh hospital
- Design underway of Jubail marine biology research center
DUBAI: French architecture firm Unanime has begun expanding its healthcare operations in Saudi Arabia and internationally.
The company has four subsidiaries dedicated to architecture, interior design and healthcare.
“We are expanding internationally through healthcare initiatives steered by Unanime-Golf. The entity plays a key role in promoting and developing Unanime’s healthcare projects abroad,” Pierre Sfeir, partner at Unanime, told Arab News en Francais.
Unanime’s healthcare subsidiary, UNHI, will leverage the group’s expertise for state-of-the-art medical infrastructure projects in several countries, including in the Gulf region.
The focus is on human well-being and user experience, while meeting the requirements of local regulations, said Sfeir.
Founded in Lyon in 1994, Unanime Architectes moved to Paris in 2001, and established its first Gulf office, in Bahrain, in 2011.
“We have added an office in the Alps region and soon in Riyadh, to cope with the growing demand and the specialties and expertise we offer as an architectural firm,” said Sfeir.
Unanime collaborates with local players, including NEOM, in Saudi Arabia.
“We have delivered a project to NEOM, and other projects are underway in Riyadh. The goal is to open an office in Riyadh with around 15 to 20 architects and engineers,” he added.
The healthcare project for NEOM was designed in a month and delivered in in six months.
“Usually, projects delivered to hospitals are the longest projects to execute, and we were able to do it in such a short time,” said Sfeir.
Unanime is also leading a project for the Prince Sultan Cardiac Excellence Center in Riyadh. The state-of-the-art cardiology project is integrating artificial intelligence and robotics, and includes building management.
“Today we are introducing artificial intelligence into something that needs improvement: health and well-being. Artificial intelligence is the future. Having these technologies in the region will make the cardiology center in Riyadh one of the best in Asia and the Middle East,” he said.
He added that Riyadh offers architects from around the world the opportunity to conduct projects in various sectors, including healthcare, retail and education.
“We are fortunate to be in Riyadh. There is a shift in the strategy of Saudi Arabia in general, and Riyadh in particular, to become the most advanced city in the region, if not in the world,” he added.
“The environment is business-friendly, the projects are very interesting and motivating for us as architects, giving us the opportunity to be creative, to be innovative and to bring something new to the market that didn’t exist before, which could be like breakthrough in certain areas of architecture, especially in terms of AI applications,” he said.
Sfeir said the projects are in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 which calls for the development of various sectors of the economy.
“It is important to establish a very good system of research centers, universities, and experts to lead the changes that the Kingdom is undertaking,” Sfeir said.
Unanime participates regularly in conferences that connect architects from Saudi Arabia and France.
“I think what is needed now is to put on paper all the agreements, all the discussions, and to have a strategy to make cooperation between France in particular, and European know-how in general, more accessible to local people and the community,” he said.
In line with its expansion in the Gulf, Unanime and Rougerie+Tangram have been selected to design the marine biology research center in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.
The northeastern province will be home to the Marine Applied Research Center, whose mission is to rescue and rehabilitate animals, which requires state-of-the-art architecture and the application of modern technologies.
In France, the group’s flagship projects include the International Agency for Research on Cancer, delivered in 2023.
“We have a genomic library of over a million samples, stored in a very specific way, which enables researchers to carry out research, and make advances in curing certain types of cancer,” said Sfeir.
The aim is to welcome researchers from various parts of the world to exchange ideas and develop innovative technologies.
Located in the Lyon Gerland biodistrict, home to the French pharmaceutical industry, the building’s design encourages exchange and movement of 300 researchers on-site.
“From an architectural point of view, this is a technological and sustainable building. We have biomimicry technology on the inner courtyard facades and on the outer facade, which provides shade to the building, with no additional energy cost,” he added.
“We strive to make hospitals more user-friendly, more welcoming. We should be able to put people at ease, psychologically ready to receive physical treatment.
“That is how our buildings are built, how our spaces are thought out to help people start their treatment as soon as they walk through the hospital door,” he said.
Saudi Arabia attends 77th World Health Assembly in Geneva
- This year’s assembly will address several important issues, including discussions on the WHO investment round
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Health Minister Fahad bin Abdurrahman Al-Jalajel is attending the 77th session of the World Health Assembly at the UN headquarters in Geneva, which began on Monday.
Under the theme “All for Health, Health for All,” the WHA77 includes health ministers from the member states of the World Health Organization.
This year’s assembly will address several important issues, including discussions on the WHO investment round, and the fourteenth draft of the general program of work.
Key topics on the agenda include amendments to the International Health Regulations and negotiations by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body on an agreement concerning pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.
Saudi, Ireland foreign ministers discuss Gaza developments in Brussels
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on Monday met his Irish counterpart Micheal Martin in the Belgian capital, Brussels, to discuss developments in the situation in the Gaza Strip and the efforts made to solve the conflict.
During the meeting, they also discussed bilateral relations between their two countries and ways to strengthen and develop them in various fields, the Kingdom’s foreign ministry said.
The meeting was held on the sidelines of a meeting of the ministerial committee, headed by Prince Faisal, which was assigned by the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit with the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels.
It also comes a day before Ireland, along with Spain and Norway, plan to make official their recognition of a Palestinian state.
Saudi industry minister begins official trip to Netherlands
- Bandar bin Ibrahim Alkhorayef’s visit seeks to strengthen ties in industrial, mining sectors
RIYADH: Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar bin Ibrahim Alkhorayef traveled to the Netherlands on Monday for an official visit with the objective of strengthening cooperation in the industrial and mining sectors, Saudi Press Agency reported.
The visit aims to explore and expand joint investment opportunities between the two countries.
Alkhorayef is scheduled to meet with several Dutch ministers and senior government officials, along with key leaders from the private sector, to discuss collaboration in the industrial and mining sectors.
The minister’s itinerary will also include several visits to Dutch factories and companies operating within these sectors with the hopes of fostering collaborative ventures between private sector entities in both countries.
The visit underscores Saudi Arabia’s commitment to diversifying its economy and strengthening international ties, SPA added.
In 2023, the Kingdom’s non-oil exports to the Netherlands were valued at about SR2.6 billion ($706 million), while its non-oil imports from the Netherlands amounted to almost SR8.5 billion.
Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union praises Saudi Arabia’s ‘tremendous effort’ to support Palestinian cause
RIYADH: The Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union has praised the “tremendous efforts of Saudi Arabia, led by King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in supporting the Palestinian cause,” the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The AIPU released a final statement following the 36th Arab Parliamentary Union Conference, which ended on Monday in Algiers.
A Saudi delegation, headed by the chairman of the Shoura Council, Sheikh Abdullah Al Al-Sheikh, took part in the conference alongside heads of parliaments and councils, and several regional and international organizations and institutions.
During its sessions, the conference discussed developments in the Palestinian issue and the current situation in the Arab region.
The statement also praised the Kingdom’s hosting of a number of Arab, Islamic and African summits to support the Palestinian cause and put an end to the aggression against the Palestinian people.
On Yemen, the statement stressed the importance of the initiatives undertaken by the Kingdom, which call for constructive dialogue to achieve sustainable peace and a comprehensive political solution.
The conference endorsed the recommendations of the political committee, “which highly praised the pivotal and leading role played by Saudi Arabia, which has never hesitated in its significant achievements, contributions, initiatives, and authentic Arab stances aimed at unifying Arab ranks and elevating the status of the Arab and Islamic nations in all international forums,” SPA said.
The conference also praised the Kingdom’s hosting of Sudanese talks in Jeddah between the two conflicting parties to consolidate a truce and reach a final ceasefire agreement to end the crisis in a way that preserves Sudan’s sovereignty and unity and enables it to restore its security and stability.
