April 23
YEMEN:
Yemeni Court Upholds Death Sentence
A Yemeni court on Saturday upheld the death sentence of a Muslim extremist
convicted of assassinating a prominent politician in 2002 and helping to
plot an attack that killed 3 American missionaries in a hospital days
later.
The court, however, overturned the verdicts and prison sentences of 6 men
who had been accused of aiding Ali al-Jarallah in the assassination of the
Yemeni Socialist Party's deputy secretary-general, Jarallah Omar.
Al-Jarallah, dressed in a blue prison suit and confined in a cage in the
courtroom, remained defiant. After the verdict was read, he took off his
shoes and held them up toward the judge's face, a sign of contempt. He
shouted "God is Great! God is Great!" and warned, without elaboration,
that "the court has itself to blame."
Al-Jarallah was also convicted on charges stemming from his involvement in
a plot that killed three Americans at a Southern Baptist missionary
hospital in Jibla, southern Yemen, 2 days after Omar's assassination. He
was also found guilty of forming a terror cell to buy weapons with the
intention of killing other local officials and foreigners.
Mohammed al-Mikhlafy, the lawyer representing the late politician, was
critical of the court's decision to acquit the alleged accomplices in
Omar's killing.
"The court has now given the chance to the acquitted defendants to kill
the remaining socialists, secularists and Westerners," he said. "The court
has ignored the political implications of this case."
Security has been tight for the trial, with several police vehicles and
roadblocks just outside. Jarallah and the acquitted defendants were taken
away in an armored vehicle; their chants of "God is Great!" could be heard
from inside.
Another militant, Abed Abdul Razak Kamel, who was sentenced to death for
killing the American missionaries, had told the court during his trial
that he had coordinated his attack with al-Jarallah. On Dec. 30, 2002,
Kamel walked through a hospital security checkpoint, concealing his weapon
under loose-fitting clothes, and opened fire at a staff meeting.
The shooting killed hospital director William E. Koehn, 60, of Kansas;
purchasing agent Kathleen A. Gariety, 53, of Wauwatosa, Wis.; and Dr.
Martha C. Myers, 57, of Montgomery, Ala.
Yemeni officials have said that Kamel and al-Jarallah may be linked to the
al-Qaida terror network headed by Osama bin Laden, who has Yemeni
ancestral roots. Police found bin Laden audiotapes at Kamel's house.
(source: Associated Press)
