Article 5 of the Saudi Classified Information Penal Law

This is the main penal article in the Law. It punishes with imprisonment for a period not exceeding twenty years, or a fine not exceeding one million riyals, or both, without prejudice to any more severe penalty provided for by law; that is, if another law provides a more severe penalty for the same act, this article does not prevent applying it.

The penalty covers anyone who commits any of the following acts:

1. Publishes classified documents or information or discloses them.
2. Enters or attempts to enter any place or site he is not permitted to enter, with the intent of obtaining classified documents or information; mere attempt is enough where this intent is present.
3. Obtains by any unlawful means classified documents or information.
4. Possesses or learns by virtue of his job classified official documents or information and discloses, reports or publishes them without a legitimate reason authorized by law.
5. Deliberately destroys classified documents or misuses them knowing that they relate to State security or any public interest, with the intent of harming the State's military, political, diplomatic, economic or social standing.
6. Fails to preserve the confidentiality of information and documents.

Note that some paragraphs are general and cover any person, such as paragraphs 2 and 3, while paragraph 4 is tied to someone who possessed or learned of the documents by virtue of his job.

The text sets the maximum penalty without a minimum. Article 6 also provides that an accomplice is punished with the same penalty.

To assess a particular situation, it is advisable to consult a lawyer specializing in criminal matters.