|
Jordan charges 108 men with terrorism
Jordan's military prosecutor said yesterday that 108 men from southern Jordan have been charged with terrorist acts that led to the deaths of several people. Maj. Fawaz Al-Utoum said the suspected terrorists were also charged with illegal possession of automatic arms, illegal possession of explosives, importing arms for illegal use, illegal gatherings and rioting. Nineteen of the men are still at large. Others have been released on bail and will be tried soon in State Security Court. The indictments stem from shootouts in November 2002 in Maan, 210 kilometres south of Amman, that killed five people, including two police officers.
| Jordan at least takes that stuff seriously... |
The indictment sheet, published Wednesday in a Jordanian daily and confirmed by Utoum, said Mohammed Ahmed Al-Chalabi, better known as Abu Sayyaf, called on his followers to rebel against the public authority, the mayor of Maan city and the police chief.
| I think I've lost count of the number of Abu Sayyaf's in the Islamist world... |
Abu Sayyaf, arrested last month, is also being tried with 12 other terrorist suspects accused of conspiring to carry attacks against American targets, including the US Embassy and Jordanian bases where the alleged plotters believed US troops were stationed. Abu Sayyaf is suspected of ties to a banned militant group, called Takfir wal Hijra, or Repentance and Flight, that advocates isolation from the "sinful" world.
| Takfir is more a philosophy (of violence, of course) than an organized movement. Takfiri tried to kill bin Laden when he lived in Sudan because he wasn't Islamist enough... |
Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-10-25 |
