Saudi Arabia will apply Islamic sharia law to three Westerners shown on television confessing to bombings, a Saudi minister was quoted as saying.
Sharia law dictates the execution, usually by public beheading, of murderers, rapists and drug smugglers. A Briton was killed in the November car bombings and several injured.
Saudi television Sunday showed a Briton, a Canadian and a Belgian confessing to staging the attacks in the capital Riyadh.
Britain said its diplomats, who were given no prior warning of the televised confessions, were seeking an urgent meeting with Saudi officials.
A Canadian government official said Ottawa had already made it clear to Saudi Arabia that it expects Mr William Sampson - the detained Canadian - to be dealt with in a civilized manner.
Saudi television showed the three accused separately, sitting behind a desk and saying they planted the explosives in the cars and detonated them by remote control.
Briton Alexander Mitchell said he and Mr Sampson carried out the bombing that killed Christopher Rodway and injured his wife on November 17th.
Mr Mitchell said he was involved, with Mr Sampson and the Belgian, in the second bombing on November 22nd, which injured three Britons and an Irish woman.
The men said they had received orders to carry out the bombings, but did not say who gave the orders or why.
The Belgian, identified by Belgian media as Raf Skivens or Stevens, said he was only involved in the second bombing.
Reuters