In its Monday session, the counter-terrorism court tried terrorists involved in plotting terror attacks against western interests in Yemen. During the session, the prosecution presented all the seized tools planned to be used by the armed band in assaulting western interests in Yemen including the British and the Italian embassies and the French Cultural Center. The terrorist plans also included assassination plots against senior government officials. The prosecution presented to the court a computer device, grenades, 30 bullets, video camera and a military uniform as well as a bag containing two daggers.In the session, top defendant Anwar al-Jailani, an Iraqi with Swiss citizenship and one of the 8 tried suspects, confessed to the possession of the articles seized by the prosecution. The top defendant denied the seized hand grenades were possessed by him and he never used any camera to take photos of the targets (the British and the Italian embassies and the Frech Cultural Center) as the prosecution mentioned. He affirmed that he used the camera for personal purposes. Previous reports of the general prosecution emphasized that Anwar al-Jailani made a confession of the tools seized in the investigation report, and other documents related to plotting western interests were uncovered.
Suspect Ahmad Khaiti, a Syrian national, confessed in the session that the computer never contained any data relevant to terrorist operations. The computer was taken away from his house two months after he was arrested, and therefore he claimed the court to return his computer since it was of no relevance to the plots.
Defendant Abdurrahman Basurrah confessed that he bought a military uniform 5 months before he recognized Anwar al-Jailani, and the purpose of the uniform is to imitate the role of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in one of the student activities.
Suspect Salah Othman stated the cheques presented by the prosecution in the session are real ones carrying the names of beneficiaries in handwriting.
The prosecution responded to appeals of the defense advocate of suspects No. 7 and 8 concerning the illness of suspect Amran al-Faqih and forwarded a medical report stating that the suspect does not suffer from anything though his heart is placed to the right side of his chest. The court granted the suspects a chance to respond to evidences filed against them by the prosecution. It is worth mentioning that trials of the 8 terrorists involved in the formation of an armed band disclosed several shocking facts. The trials uncovered the 8-terrorist band was plotting to carry out offensives on western interests in Yemen.
The band was led by Anwar al-Jailani who was aided by two Syrian brothers and five Yemenis. The suspects were captured in Yemen for being involved in plotting to attack western interests in Yemen including embassies and foreign cultural centers, as well as forging documents carrying unidentified names to facilitate their tasks. Previous court sittings disclosed these terrorists were backed by "al-Tawhid Battalions Organization", which is also believed to have stood behind terrorist operations against western interests in Saudi Arabia, mainly U.S. owned facilities. Trials on terrorists revealed the 8-terrorist band was plotting to assassinate government dignitaries topped by Prime Minister Abdulqader Bajammal, Interior and Defense Ministers, President of the Yemeni Intelligence Organization and a number of the People's General Congress Party leaders.
Eight al-Qaeda suspects, including an Iraqi with Swiss nationality, admitted in Sana'a Counter-Terrorism Monday, March 21 to planning attacks on Western embassies here, while six convicted terrorists were sentenced to two years in jail in another case. The Sana'a Counter-Terrorism court earlier in the day sentenced six men to two years in prison after they were convicted of forming an armed gang in Afghanistan camps between 1998 and 2002 and were plotting and raising funds for "criminal acts" inside Yemen and abroad. The court acquitted five others of the 11-member group whose trial started Feb. 15. The suspects were also charged to have had planned to travel to Iraq to fight US-led forces. The charges against them included possession of arms and explosives and forging documents and passports. All 11 men were acquitted of another charge of setting up an armed group to carry out attacks in Yemen.