Adam: “I am just a Scapegoat” [Archives:2000/33/Front Page]
August 14 2000
Attorneys of Hossn Attiah, attending Saturday’s hearing sitting demanded the execution of Mohamed Adam Ishaq. Advocates, Ismael Al-Dailami and Abdullah Al-Mahdi said that there had been no doubts that Hossn was killed. They also demanded all accomplices be brought to justice.
On the other hand, the accused’s attorney, Dr. Al-Khateeb said that his client was innocent. He added that he wrote to him during Saturday hearing that he was a scapegoat. Adam wrote in his letters to his advocate that he did not commit any crime as shown in his letters published here.
It was expected that the Sana’a University representatives would appear on Saturday hearing, however, its attorney, Hassan Mojalli said that the issue related to individuals and not to the University. At the end, the hearing was adjourned to August 28 to read the final reports of the German experts.
In the last two sessions held last Saturdays the court did not hear anything new whereas these sessions should have solved problems
in the light of report of the German experts. Unfortunately, the report itself was not final.
Last Saturday session was confined to submission of defense by both the victims’ and defendant’s lawyers. In this session Adam appeared in stylish gear and looked inspirited. People expected he must be having something new to say this time; but to their surprise he refused to answer questions directed to him by the court. His silence meant nothing new other than ambiguity. Charges brought by the prosecution and interrogators were focused on the two victims: Iraqi-national Zainab Sa’ood Aziz and Yemeni-national Husn Ahmed Attiyah; both former students of Faculty of Medicine.
In his defense, Zainab’s lawyer, Abdulaziz al-Baghdadi demanded that Sana’a University pay a civil compensation amounting to US$2 million to his victim’s blood-relatives. He also demanded to bring Sana’a University before court on charges of gross negligence.
In fact, Dr. Hassan al-Maggali, did appear before the court last Saturday representing Sana’a University. He said that the case was of a personal nature and that the University has nothing to do with it. But many a lawyer affirmed that Maggali’s appearance in court was “on personal basis” as
Meanwhile lawyers Ismail al-Dailimi and Abdulla al-Mehdi representing blood-relatives of the victim Husn, demanded to have Adam executed by a fire-squad or beheaded by sword for premeditatedly and aggressively killing an innocent Muslim. Based on personal and civil rights of their victims, the two lawyers also demanded the court to hold Sana’a University responsible for the breach of their victim’s material and moral rights. They asked for compensation at court’s discretion.
On the other hand, Adam’s counsel, Dr. Mohammed al-Khateeb told the Yemen Times: ” From the very beginning, while going through the interrogations with Adam, I was convinced that he was a liar. He alleged to have committed crimes which he virtually did not.
Dr. Khateeb added: ” All fourteen of his alleged victims were found to be alive; therefore his confessions were baseless. His lies could be tallied with the fact that none of the alleged 14 victims’ parents or guardians turned up. ”
Showing his disagreement over the stories which were ascribed to Adam, Dr. Khateeb said: “Common sense and logic never accept the circumstances, means and ways in which Adam behaved with the victims such as his establishing relations with his victims and ending them up at the morgue through the alleged killing.”The defense counsel of Adam went on to say that according to his client’s allegations he used to collect his victims’ lingerie and outer garments and dump them in a dustbin somewhere at the morgue door. “It is ridiculous to believe this because any student could feel it or any body’s attention could have been drawn to this act,” he said.
Giving another evidence on the lies of his client, the lawyer said that Adam was said to have killed Husn at 12:00 hours on the same day of her disappearance but her faculty colleagues and others affirmed that they last saw Husn at 15:00 hours on the same day!! Dr. Khateeb then narrated the stories about Husn by saying:” In the first instance, Husn’s father blamed his sons who always opposed her university-level education. The second account maintained that she eloped when forced to marry her cousin whom she detested. The third, a death certificate, confirmed her death eight months before her disappearance. There are other stories; but all these are enough to convince us that the corpse is not that of Husn!!”The “Yemen Times” was taken aback to learn from Dr. Khateeb’s disclosure that Adam, while in dock, slipped a note to him saying he did not kill Husn and that he has no relation with her killing!! “All I could understand from him was that he himself was a scapegoat. It would appear that he is acting on someone’s behalf. Why? I do not know,” Dr. Khateeb said.
The “Yemen Times” was struck dumb with another account concerning Zainab. Dr. Khateeb said her friends confirmed she left the Faculty in a black Mercedes on her own will on the same day she was reported to be missing. There was a row between her and her mother as told by Zainab’s mother during her interrogations. Other contradictions could be traced from the different statements Zainab’s mother made to local and foreign newspapers and magazines.
However, the lawyer categorically denied that there was any prostitution ring behind this crime.
He construed the presence of body parts found in the morgue to the presence of a ‘black market’ between the hospitals and the University for the sale of these parts . “It has been confirmed to me that Adam actually had relations with hospitals’ morgues,” the lawyer said.
Mr. Khateeb added: ” All the aforesaid evidences point that Adam is innocent provided if any killing has taken place outside the morgue and provided Adam has no relation with it.”
Until this moment ambiguity cloaks the case. Observers keep gossiping while the Minister of Interior is under strong pressure from influential sides to change his hard-line attitude.
The Germans’ final report is to be read out in the next session on August 28.
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