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American indicted as terrorist in Yemen
 A Yemeni security court Saturday indicted an American of Yemeni origin on charges of belonging to al Qaida and attempting to kill three foreigners. Mohammad Jaber al-Bannaa pleaded guilty in the court, specialized in terrorism cases in the capital, Sanaa, to attempting to murder a Dutchman, an Austrian and a German. He testified that he had received $60,000 from an "anonymous charitable person" to carry out the attack, saying that his "closeness to God" had drove him to do so.
| We can prob'ly guess where the "anonymous charitable person" lives... |
While the prosecution asked the court for a maximum sentence, the defendant's lawyer, Saleh al-Tayar, insisted that his client was suffering from "mental handicaps and disturbances according to a medical report."
| "Yer honor, you can't execute my client! He's a nut! A loon! His turban's waaaaaaay too tight!" |
The court decided to refer al-Bannaa, who was arrested by the Yemeni authorities last January, to a psychiatrist for evaluation before continuing his trial.
| "Put him on the couch... Now, tell me, young man, how long have you thought you were a goat?" |
The U.S., which put a $5 million bounty on him, is seeking the extradition of the defendant, accused of belonging to a sleeping cell affiliated with al-Qaida. His lawyers said in a statement there was no evidence linking al-Bannaa with the 9/11 attacks on the United States.
Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-11-28 |
