Court sentences anti-U.S. plotters, delays Al-Ahdal verdict [Archives:2006/939/Front Page]
Amel Al-Ariqi
SANA'A, April 18 ) On Wednesday, April 19, the Specialized State Security Penal Court (SSSPC) sentenced 13 Islamic militants to prison terms of up to seven years for planning attacks against American and other Western targets in Yemen.
The Sana'a court handed down jail terms between 18 months and seven years to the men, also convicted of plotting to attack Yemeni military and security installations like the Ministry of Interior and Political Security, as well as possessing explosives and weapons.
Group leader Ali Sufyan Al-Amari received seven years in prison for his role in founding the group, which intended to kidnap foreigners to negotiate release of prisoners and bomb Western interests in Yemen. Other group members received prison terms ranging from 18 months to six years.
One defendant, Faisal Abdul-Aziz, was acquitted because he turned himself in and cooperated with the investigation.
During the trial, the defendants denied all other charges, saying they had been planning to travel to Iraq and fight a holy war against U.S.-led forces there. They were not charged with belonging to Al-Qaeda. The 14 Islamic militants were arrested May 9, 2004 and their trial began January 4, 2005.
In other news, on Tuesday, April 17, the SSSPC wrapped up the trial of Mohammad Hamdi Al-Ahdal, the suspected second-in-command of Al-Qaeda's terrorist network in Yemen, and set April 26 for pronouncing the verdict. Al-Ahdal, 35, is charged with being part of an armed gang formed to attack foreign interests and damage Yemen's security and stability.
During the trial, public prosecutor Khalid Al-Mawri called for the maximum penalty for Al-Ahdal, who prosecutors say received up to $50,000 from Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to finance the network's operations in Yemen and aid detained group members' families. Prosecutors alleged that he received approximately $150,000 from a fellow Al-Qaeda member identified as Saudi national Abu-Omar Al-Usaimi.
“The defendant raised funds inside and outside the country and was in touch with Al-Qaeda leaders and operatives in neighboring countries,” Al-Mawri told the judge, adding, “He discussed with them directly or through coded messages how to plan and carry out bomb attacks.”
In his final court testimony, Al-Ahdal rejected the charge of financing attacks in Yemen, alleging that his trial is politically motivated. “All of the accusations are political in nature and the United States is behind this trial, as senior Yemeni officials themselves have told me that U.S. President [George W.] Bush wants this,” he said.
However, Al-Ahdal did admit to aiding families of Islamic militants held in the custody of the U.S. or Yemeni authorities. “'Yes, I have been giving financial aid to families of Mujahedeen (holy warriors) and I'm happy for doing that,” Al-Ahdal stated.
He further stated that U.S. and Saudi investigators interrogated him during his detention in a Sana'a jail.
Yemeni authorities believe Al-Ahdal, who was arrested in 2003, was the deputy of Ali Qaed Sinan Al-Harithi, alias Abu Ali Al-Harithi, who was killed in a November 2002 CIA missile attack on his car in eastern Yemen. Harithi was described by Yemeni officials as the top local Al-Qaeda leader in Yemen.
Regarding the 23 Al-Qaeda prison escapees, local press reported that 23-year-old Zakaria Yafii, one of the 23 who fled Central Intelligence Prison in Sana'a in February, was arrested Monday.
Al-Rai daily quoted a security source as saying that security forces raided an apartment in Shumaila neighborhood south of Sana'a where they seized Yafii, who made no attempt to resist arrest. He was returned to Central Intelligence Prison.
Yafii is considered the seventh runaway Al-Qaeda prisoner to surrender or be arrested in the past two months. His surrender is believed to have resulted from negotiations between the intelligence service and tribal leaders, as were previous deals that led to the surrender of six other runaway prisoners. He is one of six suspects awaiting trial on charges of belonging to Al-Qaeda and planning terrorist attacks against foreign interests in Yemen.
Yemen, which is cooperating with the U.S.-led War on Terror, cracked down on suspected Al-Qaeda militants in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the U.S., convicting several presumed extremists, including a number in connection with the USS Cole and Limburg attacks.
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