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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Hamas-linked suspects plead not guilty |
| 2006-12-14 |
| Three Jordanians accused of plotting terror attacks in the Kingdom on behalf of Hamas pleaded not guilty at the start of their trial. They face the death penalty on charges of “conspiracy to carry out terrorist acts” as well as “illegal possession of explosives and weapons.” The tribunal also dismissed arguments by their defence lawyers that the trial was political and does not fall under the jurisdiction of the State Security Court. The presiding judge backed the state prosecutor, who insisted the case was related to state security and therefore should be heard by the military tribunal. The trial was adjourned to December 27. The suspects were arrested in April and May as part of a sweep that netted 20 people. On May 11, they confessed on state television that they had plotted to kill senior officials in the intelligence services. At the time, Ayman Naji Hamadallah, a 34-year-old identified as the plot’s mastermind, spoke of his links to Hamas and said he had staked out the home of an intelligence officer who was to be targeted. Hamadallah, who said he made frequent trips to Syria, added that after his arrest he tipped off the authorities about a weapons caché in northern Jordan. Footage of the seized weapons, including Iranian-made Katyusha rockets, was also shown on television. The other two suspects are Ahmad Abu Rabieh, 27, and Ahmad Abu Diab, 29, the latter described as a Muslim preacher from Mafraq, a town on the Syrian border. |
| Posted by:Fred |