Saudi terrorvision: US-listed al-Qaeda men become stars of Saudi TV

[TomSea]

Saudi terrorvision: US-listed al-Qaeda men become stars of Saudi TV
Deemed terrorists by the US, and believed to be financing AQAP, sheikhs seem to receive a warm welcome in Riyadh

Abdulmajid al-Zindani, designated as a terrorist by the US, with prominent Saudi cleric Muhammad al-Arifi (left) and other scholars, picture shared in 2015 (screengrab)
Shuaib Almosawa   Tuesday 1 August 2017 14:15 UTC
Last update: Tuesday 1 August 2017 15:20 UTC

SANAA - What at first perhaps looked like any regular hospital bedside visit between two old friends catching up was anything but.

In footage aired on an anonymous YouTube channel early in 2016, an elderly Yemeni cleric visited his Saudi peer, Ayeth al-Qarni, in a hospital in Riyadh, and brought good news from the battlefront next door.

"I've got good news for you from Taiz," says Abdulmajid al-Zindani, who supports the Saudi-led war against Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen.

But Zindani, who is apparently allowed to operate freely in Saudi Arabia, is a veteran al-Qaeda supporter, and in 2004 found himself on the US Treasury's Specially Designated Global Terrorist List.

"Allah Akbar, Allah Akbar," people chant in the background.

Continued: http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/hold-al-qaeda-terrorists-who-are-tv-celebs-saudi-arabia-337403360