MOROCCO, 16 June — Three Saudi nationals, suspected of belonging to a sleeper cell of the Al-Qaeda network appeared in a court here, a government newspaper reported yesterday. The three, who were arrested last month, are allegedly members of a cell that was said to be preparing attacks against Morocco and on NATO ships in the Strait of Gibraltar, according to the Interior Ministry. Four Moroccans, including three women — two of them married to the accused Saudis — also appeared in the court for a preliminary hearing Friday, the Al-Ittihad Al-Ichtiraki newspaper said. The court appearance was “shrouded in secrecy”, according to the newspaper, which added that the accused had legal representation. According to press reports on Friday, the United States had asked for the three Saudis to be transferred to the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba to join prisoners from the US-led war in Afghanistan. But Morocco rejected the request, saying Moroccan judicial authorities “had taken the matter into their hands,” according to the Maroc-Hebdo newspaper. Maroc-Hebdo also reported Friday that the Pentagon had despatched a group of officers to question the three suspected Al-Qaeda members, but Washington has not confirmed the report.