Watch: Workers in Saudi Arabia jailed, get 300 lashings

A group of workers were found guilty of rioting and damaging public property by the Saudi Criminal Court in Makkah.

In the hearing that lasted for four hours, the court delivered prison terms and flogging punishments to 49 workers, employed by the Saudi Binladin Group, Arab News reported.

The punishments included four months in prison and 300 lashes for their involvement in the riots and damaging public property, apart from inciting other workers to commit riots. Some other defendants were sentenced to 45 days in jail.

The incident from last year involved burnings of buses used to transport workers in the Umm Al-katad area. The fire was then put out by the Makkah police and civil defense firefighters. The workers involved in the riots were arrested and brought to trial.

Legal adviser Abdulaziz Al-Harthy said to Al-Watan that this verdict reflects the state's right given that the riots broke the country's systems.

He further added that Binladin Group has the right to file a lawsuit against the workers who damaged its property after the judgment becomes final.

• WORLD
• Saudi Arabia