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| USS Cole Prosecution Seeks Death Penalty |
| 2004-09-16 |
| A trial into the almost four-year-old bombing of a U.S. warship in Aden Harbor that killed 17 Navy sailors concluded Wednesday with prosecutors seeking the death penalty for six defendants. The six defendants, including a Saudi in U.S. custody who is being tried in absentia, are the first people to be tried in the attack, carried out by two suicide bombers in an explosives laden boat on Oct. 12, 2000. The men are charged with belonging to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, forming an armed gang with the purpose of carrying out crimes against the state, resisting authorities and forging documents. The judge adjourned the trial until Sept. 29, when he will issue his verdict. If convicted, the men face between 15 years in jail and the death penalty. The death sentence is considered unlikely because the defendants are not accused of being the actual bombers. In closing arguments, the prosecution demanded that the maximum sentence be issued against the defendants, but defense counsel rejected the charges. The five accused in court, all Yemenis, are Jamal al-Badawi, Maamoun Msouh, Fahd al-Qasa, Ali Mohamed Saleh and Murad al-Sirouri. None have ever formally entered pleas. A sixth defendant, Saudi-born alleged mastermind of the Cole attack Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, is in U.S. custody at an undisclosed location. The United States announced al-Nashiri's arrest in 2002. He was detained in the United Arab Emirates and transferred to American custody. U.S. officials believe he is a close associate of Saudi-born bin Laden, who is believed to have masterminded the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. In addition to the Cole attack, al-Nashiri is suspected of helping direct the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. |
| Posted by:Mark Espinola |
| #1 I wonder what type of economic impact that attack had on the harbor. Can't think that it helped business. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-09-16 4:49:43 PM |