JORDAN: 2003 ANNUAL TERRORISM REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 AMMAN 007813

SIPDIS

S/CT FOR REAP

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER JO
SUBJECT: JORDAN: 2003 ANNUAL TERRORISM REPORT

REF: SECSTATE 301352


1. Answers keyed to reftel.

A) (U) Significant actions taken by host governments to
support the global coalition against terrorism.

The GOJ continues to provide strong support for the global
coalition against terrorism and has responded positively to
U.S. requests for assistance. For example, within the limits
of its penal code and bank secrecy laws, the GOJ on multiple
occasions has searched bank records in Jordan for assets of
suspected terrorists and charitable organizations with
alleged links to terrorism in support of the global effort to
dismantle terrorist financing networks.

B) (U) Describe the response of the judicial system to acts
of international and/or terrorism.

The Jordanian penal code provides the judicial branch with
many legal tools to pursue and convict suspected terrorists.
In 2003, the GOJ prosecuted several terrorism-related cases,
including some involving weapons smuggling and border
infiltration attempts, some of which carried over from 2002.
Several are still ongoing as of this writing, and probably
will not be concluded before the end of the year.
Significant developments include:

-- Foley Assassination Trial Begins:

Jordan's military prosecutor on May 11 indicted 11
individuals -- including six in absentia -- who are accused
in the October 2002 assassination of USAID official Laurence
Foley. The five suspects currently in Jordanian custody,
including alleged triggerman Libyan national Salem Bin
Suweid, proclaimed their innocence before the State Security
Court, claiming in October that Jordanian security officials
had tortured them to elicit earlier confessions to the crime.
Among the six at large is al-Qa'ida operative and Jordanian
national Ahmad Fadil Nazzal al-Khalayleh (aka Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi). On November 11, the Court indefinitely
postponed the case pending the appearance of Bin Suweid's
wife before the court as a defense witness.

-- Plotters Against Americans in Amman Acquitted:

The State Security court on January 22 acquitted 10 men
accused of conspiring to carry out attacks against Americans
in the Abdoun area of Amman, where the U.S. embassy is
located, citing a lack of evidence. It did, however, convict
eight of the men for illegal weapons possession, sentencing
them to one year in prison.

-- Members of "Mafraq Cell" Indicted:

The State Security Court is hearing the case of 13 men who
are accused of plotting attacks against U.S. and Jordanian
targets, including the U.S. embassy in Amman. The group
includes three Saudis being tried in absentia. Jordanian
authorities arrested the ten in the eastern town of Mafraq in
December 2002. During an October court appearance, one
suspect confessed to plotting attacks against U.S. interests,
but the rest continue to proclaim their innocence. The most
prominent defendant is Ahmad al-Shalabi (aka Abu Sayyaf),a
Jordanian extremist from the southern town of Ma'an, who
appeared in court following his arrest on September 27.
Until his capture, Abu Sayyaf was on Jordan's "most wanted"
list for his role in inciting violence in November 2002 that
led to the death of several people in Ma'an, including two
police officers.

-- Retrial of Jordanian-American citizen Ra'ed Hijazi:

The State Security Court on October 13 postponed indefinitely
the case of Jordanian American citizen and suspected
al-Qa'ida operative Ra'ed Hijazi, who is being retried for
his role in the 1999 plot to conduct terrorist acts during
the millennial celebrations in Jordan. The court adjourned
in order to respond to Court of Cassation concerns about
improper court procedures in his earlier trial and to prepare
a final verdict in the matter.

-- Ansar al-Islam Cell on Trial:

The State Security Court on September 13 formally charged 13
Jordanians and two Iraqis affiliated with the Iraq-based
Ansar al-Islam and al-Qai'da with conspiring to carry out
terrorist attacks against tourists, foreigners and members of
Jordan's security forces in Jordan. The Court in October
referred one of the plotters, Mahmoud al-Riyati, who was
arrested in northern Iraq in March, to a mental institute for
evaluation. The group allegedly received weapons and
explosives training in Afghanistan and Iran. Fugitives being
tried in absentia include Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi and reported
Ansar al-Islam spiritual leader Najm al-Din Faraj Ahmad (aka
Mullah Krekar),who currently is in Norway fighting
expulsion. Norwegian judicial authorities on November 24
rejected a Jordanian extradition request for Krekar on drug
charges but are exploring options to expel him for violating
terms of his refugee status (see para C).

-- Jordanians Execute Diplomat's Assassin:

Jordanian authorities on August 26 hanged a second man, Jamal
Fatayer, for his role in the 1994 assassination of Jordanian
diplomat Na'eb al-Ma'ayteh in Beirut. One of his
accomplices, Yasser Abu Shinnar was executed on December 4,
2002 for the crime. The Court of Cassation had upheld
earlier State Security Court verdicts against both men, who
carried out the attack on behalf of the radical Palestinian
faction Abu Nidal Organization. Three other accomplices,
including ANO leader Sabri al-Banna, were sentenced to death
in absentia for al-Ma'ayteh's murder. Iraqi authorities
found al-Banna dead in his Baghdad apartment in August 2002,
claiming he had committed suicide.

-- Three Sentenced to Death for Car Bomb Against GID
Official:

The Court of Cassation on October 1 affirmed the State
Security Court's April 29 conviction and death sentence of
three men (two in absentia) for bombing the car of a senior
Jordanian counterterrorism official in Amman in February

2002. The intended victim escaped unharmed, but the bomb
killed two passersby. The court sentenced four others to
terms ranging from one year with hard labor to life in prison.

-- Court Upholds Verdict Against al-Khalaya (Cells)
Organization:

The Court of Cassation on January 21 upheld the July 2002
State Security Court verdict sentencing six men each to 15
years of hard labor for plotting to carrying out terrorist
attacks against U.S. and other Western targets in Jordan in
Jordan.

-- Retrial of "Reform and Challenge" Organization Members:

The State Security Court on September 30 began the re-trial
of six individuals accused of subversive acts in 1998 after
the Court of Cassation revoked rulings in the case for the
third time in August. The six, in addition to three others
tried in absentia, are accused of carrying out a series of
primitive bombings that damaged some cars but caused no
casualties.

C) (U) Did the host government extradite or request the
extradition of suspected terrorists for prosecution during
the year?

Jordanian authorities in January requested that Norway
extradite Najm al-Din Faraj Ahmad (aka Mullah Krekar),the
suspected spiritual leader of the Iraq-based extremist group
Ansar al-Islam, on drug charges. The Jordanians have since
charged Krekar in absentia with involvement in a terrorist
plot (see above). However, judicial authorities in Oslo on
November 24 rejected Jordan's request, saying that the
documentation provided was not sufficient to support his
extradition.

D) (U) Describe any significant impediments to host
government prosecution and/or extradition of suspected
terrorists.

There are no legal or administrative impediments to the
prosecution of terrorist cases in Jordan. However, there are
some legal and constitutional impediments to extraditing to
the U.S. Jordanian citizens who may be suspected terrorists.
Most extraditions have been put on hold following a 1997
Jordanian court ruling that Jordan's bilateral extradition
treaty with the U.S. is invalid until ratified by parliament.
The two and a half year absence of a sitting Parliament, and
two government changes since new parliamentary elections in
June 2003, have prevented the GOJ from submitting the treaty
to parliament for consideration.

On certain occasions, the political situation has made it
difficult for the GOJ to follow through on certain
terrorism-related requests. For example, the Jordanian
Central Bank on September 16 rescinded an instruction to
commercial banks to freeze bank accounts of HAMAS-connected
individuals and entities in Jordan, even though it claims
there are no such funds in Jordan. The Central Bank
retracted its decision in the face of harsh criticism from a
strongly pro-Palestinian public and parliament, despite the
GOJ's open crackdown on HAMAS in 1999. Jordanians generally
distinguish between the "humanitarian" and "military"
activities of HAMAS in light of the group's extensive social
infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
E) (U) Discuss host government responses other than
prosecution.
GOJ officials have consistently and publicly condemned both
international and domestic terrorist acts, including bombings
in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Iraq in 2003. Jordan has
remained committed to the global coalition despite attacks
targeting its interests outside Jordan during the year. For
example, bombers attacked Jordan's embassy in Baghdad on
August 7, and anonymous assailants opened fire on Jordan's
mission in Baghdad again on November 20, killing an Iraqi
police officer. Eight Jordanian citizens were wounded in the
bombing of a residential complex in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on
November 9, including twin five-year olds.
Inside Jordan, security authorities were quick to respond to
terrorist incidents and provide information to the public.
For example, GOJ spokesperson Asma Khader immediately
condemned the shooting death on November 19 of a South
American tourist and wounding of four others by a Jordanian
trucker at the southern Jordanian-Israeli border crossing,
noting the man acted randomly and alone.

The U.S. maintains an extremely close and productive working
relationship on a wide range of counterterrorism and related
security and military fronts. The GOJ has been highly
responsive to the security needs of U.S. citizens in Jordan.
During times of tension, such as during the war in Iraq and
in the aftermath of attacks in Saudi Arabia and Turkey during
Ramadan, the GOJ increased security around the embassy
perimeter and in areas where Americans frequent, including
hotels and tourist sites.

The GOJ also is working to combat terrorist support
activities, including arms smuggling, by enhancing security
measures at Jordan's long borders with Saudi Arabia, Iraq,
Syria, the West Bank, and Israel. Jordanian authorities
over the year intercepted several would-be infiltrators and
smuggled weapons destined for the West Bank and/or Israel.

F) (U) Describe major counterterrorism efforts undertaken
in 2003 by the host government, including steps taken in
international fora.

Jordan on August 28 ratified the UN International Convention
for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. Jordan
also is expected to accede in the near future to two
International Maritime Organization counterterrorism
conventions.

G) (U) Describe any significant host government support for
international terrorism, terrorists, or terrorist groups.

None.

H) (U) Has the host government made any public statements
in support of a terrorist-supporting country on a terrorism
issue?

No.


I. (U) Describe any significant change since 2002 in the
host government's attitude towards terrorism.

There has been no change in the GOJ's strong commitment to
the coalition against terrorism or to its own domestic
counterterrorism program.
HALE