| Submit your comments on this article |
| Middle East |
| Jordan court acquits 10 men of plan to attack US, Israeli targets |
| 2003-01-22 |
| Jordan's military court Wednesday acquitted 10 men of charges they planned to carry out attacks against US and Israeli targets, but sentenced eight of them to one year in prison for trying to illegally buy weapons. The court's presiding judge, Col. Fawaz al-Buqour, said there was "no evidence" to substantiate that the 10 men had planned to carry out attacks. Al-Buqour acquitted two on all charges, including prime suspect Wael Yasser al-Shalabi, 29 and handed down one-year prison terms for each of the remaining eight, saying they had attempted to either buy or sell weapons illegally. The ruling can be appealed. Prosecutors had maintained al-Shalabi was behind a plot to carry out an armed attack on Americans in an upscale Amman neighborhood. Security officials have noted they had no links to Osama bin Laden or other terror groups outside the kingdom. But the prosecution at the military State Security Court said al-Shalabi had received training in Al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan. No link at all then. Just a bunch of Jordanian "elk hunters" |
| Posted by:Steve |