HIJAZI WILL APPEAL THIRD DEATH SENTENCE; ABU

UNCLAS AMMAN 008021

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ASEC PTER JO
SUBJECT: HIJAZI WILL APPEAL THIRD DEATH SENTENCE; ABU
SAYYAF TRIAL RESUMES

REF: AMMAN 06683

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SUMMARY
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1. (U) Two high-profile terrorism-related cases resumed in
Jordan's State Security Court this week. For the third time,
the court on December 8 sentenced Jordanian-American citizen
Ra'ed Hijazi to death for his role in plotting anti-U.S.
attacks during the millennial celebrations in Jordan in
December 1999. Separately, well-known Jordanian extremist
Mohammad al-Shalabi (aka Abu Sayyaf) and several alleged
accomplices again declared their innocence in an anti-U.S.
plot when their trial resumed on December 7. End Summary.

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JORDANIAN-AMERICAN SENTENCED TO DEATH, FOR THE THIRD TIME
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2. (U) Jordan's State Security Court on December 8 for the
third time sentenced Jordanian-American citizen Ra'ed Hijazi
to death on charges related to his role in the December 1999
plot to conduct attacks during the millennial celebrations in
Jordan (see ref). The court found Hijazi guilty of "plotting
subversive acts in the Kingdom and manufacturing explosives,"
as well as possessing an unlicensed automatic weapon and
explosive material "with illicit intent."


3. (U) Hijazi maintains he is innocent of the charges and
his lawyers say he intends to appeal -- again. "I did not do
anything to deserve such a verdict. I did not commit any
crime," Hijazi shouted from his cage as the verdict was
announced. His lawyer, Jalal Darwish, told press: "We were
expecting this verdict. Nothing has changed and the verdict
is like the last one and did not come with anything new."

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ABU SAYYAF TRIAL RESUMES, DEFENDANTS RETRACT CONFESSIONS
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4. (U) Meanwhile, in another high-profile case, the trial
of local extremist Mohammad al-Shalabi (aka Abu Sayyaf) and
his alleged accomplices resumed on December 7. Nine of the
men, charged with plotting subversive acts in Jordan --
including a possible attack against the U.S. Embassy in Amman
-- retracted earlier confessions saying they were given under
duress. During his second court appearance since his
September 27 arrest, Abu Sayyaf repeated his claim of torture
and declared his innocence: "I was tortured into confessing
that I committed subversive acts. I do not know any of the
suspects and I only met them when I was imprisoned by the
authorities." The trial will resume on December 14.

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COMMENT
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5. (U) In Hijazi's case, it is unclear whether the court
satisfied concerns from the appeals court about improper
procedures used the earlier trials. Jordanian law allows a
defendant to appeal verdicts from the security court
indefinitely, so if the two courts have unresolved issues, we
expect this nearly four-year-old case to continue into the
new year.

Visit Embassy Amman's classified web site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman or access the site
through the State Department's SIPRNET home page.
HALE