JIPTC PLOTTERS PUBLICLY ARRAIGNED

UNCLAS AMMAN 009392 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER PREL JO SUBJECT: JIPTC PLOTTERS PUBLICLY ARRAIGNED REF: A. TD-314/52765-05 ¶B. AMMAN 7438 ¶1. (U) Jordanian dailies carried front-page reports December 1 on the arraignments in the state security court of four men charged with plotting to attack U.S. personnel in Jordan. According to the indictments, the four men, Ma'adh Breizat (19),Ibrahim al-Jahawsheh (28),Faisal al-Rweidhan (28),and Ibadah al-Hiyari (24),had trained with automatic rifles and had followed U.S. instructors who work at the Jordanian International Police Training Center (JIPTC) to a house near the U.S. Embassy in Amman in August. The four had also allegedly inspected a potential ambush site on the road used by U.S. and other trainers driving to and from JIPTC. Ringleader Ma'adh Breizat is additionally charged with possessing unlicensed firearms. No trial date has been set. ¶2. (SBU) Jordanian security services arrested the indicted men in August as reported ref A. In line with past practice, the GOJ did not publicly acknowledge the plot until the case reached the State Security Court, where it becomes a matter of public record. ¶3. (U) This is the second plot directed at JIPTC employees this year. In early September, the State Security Court charged 17 suspects with plotting to assassinate Americans working at JIPTC with a silencer-equipped sniper rifle (Ref B). HALE