A Yemeni military court has sentenced 12 intelligence officers to prison terms ranging from eight months to three years over a prison break by 23 Al-Qaeda operatives in February, a state-run website reported yesterday. In a ruling issued Wednesday behind closed doors, the court also ordered the menÂ’s dismissal from their posts for negligence.On Feb. 3, the prisoners tunneled their way out of the high-security prison run by the intelligence services in Sanaa. The mass escape embarrassed the Yemeni government and dealt a major blow to its efforts to net Al-Qaeda members. The Defense MinistryÂ’s www.26sep.net website said the court found the officers guilty of negligence facilitating the escape.
Among the jailbreakers were 13 people convicted over the 2000 bombing of the US destroyer USS Cole and the 2002 attack on the French oil tanker Limburg off the Yemeni coast. The authorities have said the men dug a 44-meter-long tunnel from their cell to a nearby mosque using cooking tools. Nine of the escapees have been recaptured or gave themselves up to the authorities. Fourteen others are still on the run and are being sought under international arrest warrants, according to security officials.