Feb. 27
YEMEN:
1 death sentence upheld, another cut in Cole blast
A Yemeni appeals court Saturday upheld the death sentence against a
militant convicted in the 2000 Al Qaeda bombing of the USS Cole and
reduced a death sentence to 15 years in prison against another defendant.
The death sentence was upheld against Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, a Saudi
suspected of being an associate of Osama bin Laden's.
The court overturned a death sentence against Yemeni militant Jamal
al-Badawi, sentencing him instead to 15 years in jail.
Al-Nashiri, who was believed to have masterminded the Cole attack and
thought to have directed the 1998 bombings at the U.S. Embassies in Kenya
and Tanzania, was the only defendant who was tried in absentia. He is in
U.S. custody at an undisclosed location.
On Oct. 12, 2000, two suicide bombers rammed an explosives-laden boat into
the USS Cole as it refueled in the southern Yemeni port city of Aden,
killing 17 American sailors and injuring 37 others.
(source: Chicago Tribune)
PAKISTAN:
Court to hear appeals of Daniel Pearl's killers
A court in Pakistan on Thursday began hearing the appeals of 4 terrorists
convicted in the killing of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl,
lawyers said.
Pearl was kidnapped Jan. 23, 2002, and later beheaded in the southern city
of Karachi while he was researching a story on Islamic militancy.
In July 2002, British-born Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh was sentenced to death
and 3 other Pakistanis to life imprisonment for involvement in the
abduction and execution of the American journalist.
The government is also seeking death penalties for the 3: Fahad Naseem,
Salman Saqib and Sheikh Mohammed Adeel.
On Thursday, Sindh High Court began hearing both the appeals of the 4
convicted men, and the government's application for the death penalty for
the 3 sentenced to life imprisonment, said state prosecutor Raja Qureshi.
None of the defendants appeared at the hearing.
Abdul Waheed Katpar, the lead counsel for Sheikh, said he began his
arguments by questioning the validity of evidence used to convict his
client.
The next hearing was set for March 2.
Two other terrorists who were wanted in the Pearl's case were killed in
shootouts with security forces last year, including Amjad Hussain Farooqi,
reputed to be an al-Qaida point man in Pakistan and linked to assassination
attempts against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf. 5 other suspects in
Pearl's slaying remain at large.
(source: Associated Press)
