A special court in Saudi Arabia has found 330 people guilty of having links to al-Qaeda and plotting attacks inside the country, the state news agency SPA has reported.

One of the defendants has been sentenced to death.

The suspects were all convicted on charges of conspiring with al-Qaeda, plotting to disrupt national security and financing terrorism, according to a statement by the Public Prosecution issued on Wednesday.

Details of the cases remain sketchy, but state television reported that the charges related to 179 cases.

The defendants will be able to appeal against their convictions.

The sentences are the first reported in Saudi Arabia since al Qaeda-linked fighters launched a campaign to destabilise the monarchy in 2003.

A breakdown of the sentences was not given but they are known to include jail terms, travel bans and house arrests.

Prince Nayef, the interior minister, announced in 2008 that 991 suspected fighters had been charged with participating in "terrorist attacks" over the past five years.

Human rights activists have criticised the kingdom for secretly holding the suspects and based on poorly defined charges. Rights groups also say that those convicted were denied fundamental rights including legal help in their defence.

However, last month Bandar al-Aiban, president of the official Saudi Human Rights Commission, said his group was monitoring the trials and that the defendants had received access to legal representation.