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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - A Human Rights Watch researcher says a judge in Saudi Arabia has sentenced a prominent Shiite political activist to 13 years in prison and a 15-year travel ban.
Adam Coogle told The Associated Press that Adel al-Labbad was convicted Thursday. Coogle says activists in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, including relatives and people close to the case, confirmed the sentence.
State media did not report the sentence, nor has the judgment been published.
Al-Labbad faced five charges, including disobedience to the ruler, disturbing public order and joining a terrorist group.
Coogle says the charge that al-Labbad is a member of the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain dates back to the 1980s before he and others struck an amnesty deal with the late Saudi King Fahd in 1993.
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