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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Jordan: Prosecution urges court to convict Islamist deputies

2006-08-01

The prosecution on Monday asked the State Security Court (SSC) to convict the three Islamist deputies charged with fuelling national discord and inciting sectarianism. “The three deputies betrayed the Jordanian people by their actions,” the SSC prosecution said in its 16-page closing argument. The prosecution was referring to the deputies’ condolence visit on June 9 to the family of Abu Mussab Zarqawi and also to a televised interview in which one of the MPs allegedly described the former Al Qaeda in Iraq leader as a “hero and a martyr.” The three Islamic Action Front (IAF) MPs on trial are Ali Abul Sukkar (Zarqa, Second District), Mohammad Abu Fares (Amman, Fifth District) and Jaafar Hourani (Zarqa, Fourth District). “The deputies’ actions angered the Jordanian people who expected the MPs to stand next to them in fighting terrorism and terrorists,” the prosecution said. Zarqawi, who was killed in a US strike in Iraq on June 8, claimed responsibility for the Nov. 9 terrorist attacks against three of the capital’s hotels, killing 60 people and injuring around a hundred. “The Jordanian people and the prosecution awaits justice from your tribunal to calm people down and hand the defendants the maximum punishment,” the prosecution said. If convicted of the charges, the MPs, who do not have parliamentary immunity because the Lower House is currently in recess, could receive a maximum of three years in prison.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Prosecutor seeks death penalty for Rishawi

2006-07-10

The State Security Court (SSC) prosecutor on Sunday asked the military tribunal to hand eight people the death sentence for their part in the Amman hotel bombings last November. Only one Iraqi woman, Sajida Rishawi, was arrested in connection with the attacks, while the remaining seven defendants — including the late Abu Mussab Zarqawi — are being tried in absentia on the same charges, which included plotting terrorist acts and possessing explosives with illicit intent. Zarqawi’s Al Qaeda in Iraq group claimed responsibility for the triple hotel bombings that killed 60 people last year. “These defendants have become a scourge that has spread destruction, corruption and death in our country,” the prosecutor said during his closing argument yesterday. “The best way to defend Jordan is to get rid of them and hand them the punishment they deserve, execution,” the prosecution added. Hear! Hear! Bravo! [Clap! Clap! Clap!] The defendants used explosive belts that contained a huge number of ball bearings to cause a high number of casualties, injuries and damages to the targeted properties, the prosecution said. They deserve the same mercy and human consideration they extended to their victims. Also during yesterday’s 60-minute session, Rishawi retracted her previous confession, claiming that she was subjected to physical and mental torture to admit to being part of the plot to attack the hotels. She also denied any knowledge of the plan by her husband, Ali Hussein, and two other Iraqi men to execute suicide bombings of the three major hotels. Within days of her marriage to Hussein, Rishawi entered Jordan with her husband but “did not know the reason for the visit,” she told the court. She told the court that when she asked Hussein why, “he told me we are here for few days and we will return to Iraq soon.” "Now, go ahead and put this girdle on, honey..." "There's dynamite stiched into it!" "... and we'll go down to the hotel and you can hop on top of a table and pull this here cord..." "Hokay. And then what'll happen?" "It's a surprise." "Oh. I like surprises."

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Detained Islamists await state’s decision

2006-07-10

The detention period of four Islamist MPs arrested after paying condolences to the family of Abu Mussab Zarqawi expired on Sunday with the movement’s leaders again calling on the government to release their members. “The reputation of our colleagues has been tarnished enough with their detention and accusations of betraying the nation. The government should now reconsider its decision and release the MPs who should not be behind bars anyway,” said Azzam Hneidi, head of the Islamic Action Front (IAF) bloc at the Parliament. There are 17 Islamist deputies in the 110-member House. Hneidi said the government should not escalate the crisis further. “I cannot find a logical explanation for the government’s decision to continue the detention of our colleagues,” Hneidi told The Jordan Times. "Punishing them" isn't a valid reason? The four IAF MPs were ordered to be detained for 15 days on June 11 after the prosecutor general charged them with “fuelling national discord and inciting sectarianism.” On Jun 26, the state prosecutor ordered the detention to be renewed for a further 15 days. The deputies have pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted they could be sentenced to between six months and three years in prison in addition to a fine, according to legal sources.

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Iraq

Rebels offer to end attacks on Americans for 2-year pullout timetable

2006-06-29

Eleven Sunni insurgent groups working through mediators have offered to immediately stop attacks on American-led forces in Iraq if the Shiite-led government and Washington set a two-year timetable for withdrawing all coalition forces from the country, insurgents and government officials told the Associated Press on Wednesday. Eight of the eleven insurgent groups that have approached Prime Minister Nuri Maliki's government have banded together under the umbrella of the 1920 Revolution Brigade. All 11, however, have issued identical demands, said the insurgent representatives and government officials. They spoke on condition of anomymity because of the sensitivity of the information and for fear of retribution. The groups do not include the powerful Islamic Army in Iraq, Muhammad Army and the Mujahedeen Shura Council, an umbrella for eight militant groups including Al Qaeda in Iraq. Most of the 11 groups operate north and northeast of Baghdad in increasingly violent Salahuddin and Diyala provinces. Abu Mussab Zarqawi, the Al Qaeda leader, was killed in a US air strike in Diyala province earlier this month. The total number of insurgents is not known, nor is it known how many men belong to each group. But there are believed to be about two dozen organisations, meaning the 11 that are in contact with the government represent nearly half of the known groups. A key Sunni politician, however, predicted a big majority of insurgents could be enticed to the negotiation table. “If the reconciliation initiative is implemented properly, 70 per cent of the insurgent groups will respond positively,” said Naseer Ani, an official with the largest Sunni political group, the Iraqi Islamic Party of Vice President Tariq Hashimi.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Dupe URL: 'Judeh says HRW’s statement 'insulting’ to Jordanians

2006-06-20

The government on Monday said recent remarks by a Human Rights Watch (HRW) executive director on the detention of four Islamist MPs on charges of incitement were “insulting”. “Such remarks were insulting to a lot of Jordanians,” Government Spokesperson Nasser Judeh told reporters yesterday at a weekly press briefing. “The Jordanian government needs no apology from HRW, but the families of the Amman bombings’ victims need apology letters from HRW Executive Director for Middle East and North Africa Sarah Leah Whitson.” Islamic Action Front (IAF) MPs Ali Abul Sukkar (Zarqa, Second District), Mohammad Abu Fares (Amman, Fifth District), Ibrahim Mashoukhi (Zarqa, First District) and Jaafar Hourani (Zarqa, Fourth District) were charged with “fuelling national discord and inciting sectarianism” after condoling the family of killed Al Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Mussab Zarqawi and praising him as a “martyr” and a “holy warrior”. In her statement on Saturday, Whitson said: “Expressing condolences to the family of a dead man, however murderous he might be, is not a crime. And it shouldn’t be grounds for prosecution. Nor should a dubious comment about an alleged terrorist leader, even by a member of Parliament, be considered incitement to violence. Going after these people is an unacceptable violation of their basic rights to free speech.” Judeh said he was surprised HRW considered the MPs’ comments as part of their “legitimate freedom of speech”.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Dupe URL: 'King vows no tolerance to terror supporters

2006-06-20

(Petra) — King Abdullah said he did not think there should be any tolerance to those who incite and support terrorism in any form. “And I think this is not just a snapshot for Jordan, I think this is a snapshot for the international community,” the King told German magazine Der Spiegel last week in an interview, which was published yesterday. It seems Ye Kynge has a better handle on it than Olivia Ward does. The King said he believed the overwhelming majority of the Islamic movement in Jordan is “moderate, peace-loving people”. Naturally. He has to be polite... "I think the debate in our society now is that people have to agree on zero-tolerance to terrorism. We have to identify to everybody what terrorism is," he said. Even though some people resolutely refuse to see it... Commenting on condolences paid by four Islamic Action Front MPs to Abu Mussab Zarqawi's family, the King said: “There are some elements in the Jordanian society who are misguided individuals.” That's a polite way of observing that they're on the other side... “They have to redefine their relationship with us. They have been working in the grey area for the past decades,” the King said, referring to the Muslim Brotherhood. “I think society throughout the world now has to decide what is good and what is evil. But Olivia sez there is no good or evil, only Zool... Uhhh... Diversity. She meant diversity. "I believe that the majority of the Brotherhood wants a good future for this country, and a good future for their children. I think that we can all work as a team.” Describing Zarqawi as a mass murderer, who killed innocent people in Jordan, Iraq and elsewhere, the King said: "I cannot fathom how some people can make this man a hero." Just depends on which side you're on.

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Iraq

Maliki launches major security crackdown in Baghdad

2006-06-15

Government forces fanned out across Baghdad Wednesday, setting up checkpoints and causing huge traffic snarls on the first day of the largest security operation in Iraq's capital since Saddam Hussein's ouster three years ago. Violence dipped slightly in Baghdad, with just one car bomb killing four and injuring six. Another four people died in separate shooting incidents around Iraq. Operation Forward Together, involving tens of thousands of Iraqi army and police forces backed by US troops, began at a crucial time — one day after US President George W. Bush made a surprise visit to Baghdad to reassure Iraqis of Washington's continued support and exactly a week after the death of Abu Mussab Zarqawi. It was also the first major action by Prime Minister Nuri Maliki since his new government of national unity was sworn in on May 20, and a week after he gained the consensus he needed from Iraq's ethnic and sectarian groups to fill three key posts — defence, interior and national security. Tackling Baghdad's tenuous security has been the aim of several counterinsurgency operations in the past — including one launched one year ago. That operation, code named “Lightning” failed to have any impact on the bombings, shootings and killings that have become daily fare in Baghdad. Maliki pledged Wednesday not to negotiate with those who had shed innocent blood, the latest in a series of tough statements he has made since American bombs last week killed Zarqawi. But it remains to be seen whether Maliki, a veteran politician with years of experience as an opposition activist in exile, can back up his uncompromising rhetoric with action.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Police stop live interview with Zarqawi's brother-in-law

2006-06-09

Police on Thursday interrupted a live Al Jazeera broadcast from Zarqa and briefly detained the satellite channel's crew and confiscated their camera and tapes. The incident took place as Al Jazeera's correspondent Yasser Abu Hilala was interviewing the brother-in-law of the former Al Qaeda frontman in Iraq Abu Mussab Zarqawi. Government Spokesperson Nasser Judeh, however, said Abu Hilala had not been held by police, stressing that the live interview was halted due to high emotions among local people. "Maybe some people felt that Al Jazeera's coverage or approach wasn't balanced and so emotions were charged, especially for the families of those who died in the 11/9 bombings," he said. The interview was cut off as Zarqawi's in-law, known as Abu Qudama, was praising the dead Al Qaeda leader and depicting him as a hero.

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Iraq

Elated Iraqi Shiites rejoice at Zarqawi’s death

2006-06-09

Jubilant Iraqi Shiites distributed sweets and jumped for joy in the streets Thursday to celebrate the killing of Al Qaeda chief in Iraq Abu Mussab Zarqawi, who had declared all-out war on their community. In the capital's Shiite-dominant Kadhimiyah neighbourhood, women and children were seen distributing chocolates to Iraqi soldiers as they danced in the streets. Iraqi army soldiers were also seen dancing at city checkpoints, while in the neighbourhood's revered Kadhim shrine many Shiites were seen offering prayers to thank Allah for the death of country's most wanted militant. Seventy-year-old Shiite woman Shams Abdallah came to the shrine to annoint herself with henna as a symbol to thank God for Zarqawi's death. "My sons were killed in 2005 by Zarqawi's people as they travelled between Ramadi and Fallujah," she told AFP, naming Iraq's two most restive cities in the west, a one-time operational ground of Zarqawi. "We don't need water, we don't need electricity, the most important is that Zarqawi is dead," said Majid Hashim Assadi, 60. "With the death of the great Satan, you have began the defeat of the infidels. This is a major victory for the Iraqi people. We can say that today the Iraqi and US forces stopped terorrism."

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Sajida pleads ‘not guilty’ in terror trial

2006-05-16

Would-be suicide bomber Sajida Rishawi, standing for the November terror attacks, pleaded not guilty to the charges at the State Security Court on Monday. Her court-appointed defence lawyer Hussein Masri asked the tribunal to refer his client to a committee of government physicians for psychiatric evaluation. “My client was misled and did not realise what she was doing,” said Masri. She thought she was parachute jumping and the detonator was a rip cord. The attorney also asked the court for a minute of silence in memory of the victims of the attacks and recited verses of Koran. I'm sure veryone was very impressed with his piety. The court rejected his request for a psychiatric evaluation of the defendant. “It was evident to the court that the suspect is sane and can stand trial, therefore the court decides to reject the defence’s request and to proceed with the trial,” the presiding judge said. "So piss off, Mr. Counsel for the Defense!" "No matter how pious you are!" Masri told The Jordan Times last week that when he informed Rishawi she might be executed, her reply was: ‘When are they going to deport me to Iraq?' Based on my interview with her, I do not think she is mentally sound. She also told me she has a sister who suffers from a mental condition.” I'm sure Jordan will be happy to deport her remains to Iraq. Apparently Hizzoner has decided she's not nutz, just stupid. Rishawi is officially charged by the prosecution with plotting subversive acts resulting in the death of an individual and possessing explosives with illicit intent. Jordanian fugitive Abu Mussab Zarqawi and six other men are being tried in absentia on the same charges. Not that it makes a difference to them. Zark's already got a couple deaths sentences in Jordan. That's why he spends his time on Tatooine. Meanwhile, the groom whose wedding was targeted during the Nov. 9 bombings described the night as “bloody and crazy” during an emotional 25-minute testimony. “As I was approaching the wedding hall with my bride and other guests at the Radisson SAS Hotel, I saw a flash and white dust filled the air. A second later I heard an explosion,” Ashraf Daas recounted. Daas, 32, the first prosecution witness to take the stand, described the terror attack as “a crazy second in my life.” “I saw the ceiling collapse on the wedding guests and I saw my father and father in-law fall and die in front of my eyes,” he told the court. Daas said he entered the wedding hall and saw body parts scattered everywhere and “blood ... turning everything white in the hall to red. I got married on Nov. 9, but today I can really celebrate my wedding after seeing the suspects being tried for their crimes.”

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Iraq

US hails raids near Baghdad as Sunnis cry ‘atrocity’

2006-05-16

US forces killed over 40 Iraqi rebels in raids and air strikes near Baghdad, the military said on Monday, but leading clerics from the Sunni minority accused the Americans of an "atrocity" that killed two dozen civilians. Two US helicopter crew were killed when their aircraft was shot down during the battles on Sunday in the rural area around Latifiya and Yusufiya, south of the capital, where the military has said Al Qaeda leader Abu Mussab Zarqawi has been active. That's the Association of Muslim Scholars, providing their usual bitch. We must have gotten some fairly valuable hard boyz for them to squawk so loud. The US military said its troops killed 41 people over the preceding two days, all of them insurgents, referred to either as "Al Qaeda associates" or "terrorists." In doing so it lost its second helicopter in the area in six weeks. Among those killed, according to a military statement, was a man suspected in the shooting down of a helicopter on April 1. Here's hoping he died slowly, in a lot of pain. US military statements said several women and children were "inadvertently wounded by shrapnel" and treated in the site or evacuated, but made no mention of civilians being killed. But the Muslim Clerics Association, which has often been sharply critical of the occupying forces, said 25 civilians were dead in the US action: "We hold the Iraqi government and the occupiers responsible for this brutal atrocity." Hold and be damned, then. In recent weeks, US commanders have announced raids on suspected bases around Yusufiya for Sunni Al Qaeda fighters, describing some as staging areas for the sort of bomb attacks on Baghdad that killed more than 30 people on Sunday. Those weren't "atrocities," y'see. That's "resistance," or maybe "freedom fighting." US officers have accused Zarqawi of trying to foment civil war and to derail Shiite Prime Minister Nuri Maliki's effort to form a national unity government with Sunnis and Kurds. A series of bloodless bombings of small Shiite shrines northeast of Baghdad on Saturday raised fears of the sort of sectarian backlash provoked by the destruction of a major shine in February that was blamed on Al Qaeda — though it denied it.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Five Mansourah sect members plead not guilty

2006-04-01

Five men standing trial at the State Security Court on charges of plotting subversive acts against Americans, Israelis and Iraqi police training centres in Jordan pleaded not guilty to the charges on Wednesday. The defendants, part of a group of eight men including three who are being tried in absentia, were also charged with plotting activity aimed at undermining Jordan's relations with another country and belonging to an illegal organisation. The prosecution identified the five men in custody as Ahmad T., 37, Hassan A., 41, Abdul Hakim M., 29, Sami M., 33, and Sakher M. The remaining three defendants were identified as Haitham H., Ahmad Y., and Nasri A. When asked by the tribunal whether they were guilty or not, some of them answered “Jihad... is not a crime.” The defendants then entered a not guilty plea. At the end of the session, the state prosecutor asked the court for more time to summon his witnesses. The tribunal agreed and adjourned the session until April 19. The defendants decided to launch attacks against Americans, Israelis and Iraqi police training centres in the Kingdom following the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the charge sheet said. The men decided to form 10 cells for this purpose and called themselves the “Mansourah sect,” according to the prosecution. “Some of the suspects used the Internet to lecture on jihad and the need to fight Israelis and Christians in any part of the world,” the charge sheet said. They distributed CDs in the Kingdom, which contained material on military operations against American forces in Iraq and speeches by Jordanian fugitive Abu Mussab Zarqawi, it added. The suspects also distributed a magazine published by Al Qaeda network in Iraq in mosques in eastern Amman, according to court documents. The prosecution also charged that some of the suspects recruited several people and sent them to fight in Iraq, which “harmed the relationship between the Iraqi and Jordanian governments.” The authorities arrested five of the eight defendants in August 2005 before they carried out any of their alleged plans.

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