TERRORISM TRIALS UPDATE

UNCLAS AMMAN 003325 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER PHUM ASEC IZ JO SUBJECT: TERRORISM TRIALS UPDATE REF: A. 05 AMMAN 8828 ¶B. AMMAN 2145 ¶C. AMMAN 2118 ¶D. 05 AMMAN 7438 ¶1. SUMMARY: Jordan's State Security Court (SSC) began proceedings against would-be suicide bomber Sajida Rishawi - an Iraqi woman who attempted to blow herself up during the November 2005 hotel bombings in Amman - and against six defendants charged with firing rockets at two U.S. vessels in Aqaba in August 2005. The SSC's Attorney General filed a request with the Court of Appeals to overturn verdicts in the Ma'an riots case, while the SSC charged Azmi Jaiousi and eight others with plotting a prison break. Meanwhile, defense attorneys for the Breizat cell asked the SSC to acquit their clients, claiming that they were tortured during their interrogations. Ten militants were sentenced for plotting attacks against anti-terrorism officials and Americans working in Jordan. END SUMMARY. RISHAWI TRIAL BEGINS - LAWYER APPOINTED -------------- ¶2. On May 8, the SSC appointed attorney Hussein Masri to represent would-be suicide bomber Sajida Rishawi, who is standing trial in connection with last November's hotel bombings (ref A). Masri served as defense counsel for the Millennium Plot defendants tried in 2004, and for four men charged with plotting subversive acts against security personnel and tourists in Jordan in late 2004. The GOJ is obliged to hire a lawyer to represent Rishawi and pay the associated fees as Rishawi faces the death penalty, according to Jordanian legal experts. Rishawi's trial opened on April 24, but was adjourned pending the appointment of a defense attorney. Rishawi, indicted in March and the first woman to stand trial at the SSC on terror-related charges, told the court she could not afford a lawyer, adding: "I only have God to defend me." Jordan's Bar Association refused an early May request from the SSC to appoint a lawyer for Rishawi, claiming that the SSC bore responsibility for appointing counsel. Members of the Bar Association told the press that their refusal to appoint a lawyer stemmed from public anger over the attacks. Rishawi is charged with conspiracy to carry out terrorist acts and the illegal possession of weapons and explosives. AQABA DEFENDANTS PLEAD NOT GUILTY -------------- ¶3. Six defendants accused of firing rockets at two U.S. Navy vessels in Aqaba in August 2005 (ref C) pled not guilty during the opening of their trial on April 26. Indicted in March (ref C),the six are part of a group of 12 charged with conspiracy to commit terrorist acts and the possession and use of explosives. The remaining six defendants at large are: Amar Samerai, Abdul Halim Dalimi, Hamid Dalimi and Hussam Dalimi (all Iraqi nationals),and Syrian Abdul Ruhman Sahli and his brother Abdullah. Defense lawyer Hikmat Rawashdeh told reporters that his clients had "nothing to do with" firing the missiles at the US warships. The next court session is scheduled for mid-May. SSC SEEKS TO OVERTURN THREE VERDICTS IN MA'AN RIOTS CASE -------------- -------------- ¶4. Citing "new evidence," the SSC's Attorney General filed a request at the Cassation Court (Court of Appeals) on April 4 to overturn the verdicts of three men sentenced to death in the Ma'an riots case (ref B). The three were part of a group of nine defendants sentenced to death by the SSC on March 22 after being convicted of possessing explosives and weapons with illicit intent, as well as illegal public assembly. JAIOUSI AND OTHERS CHARGED IN PRISON BREAKOUT PLOT -------------- -------------- ¶5. On April 25, the SSC charged Azmi Jaiousi - the mastermind behind an alleged Al Qaeda plan to launch chemical attacks in Jordan (ref D) - and eight others with plotting a prison breakout. Jaiousi was earlier sentenced to death on February 15, along with Jordanian fugitive Abu Mussab Al-Zarqawi and seven others, for plotting attacks against the General Intelligence Department (GID),the Prime Ministry and the U.S. Embassy. According to the prosecutor, Jaiousi and Mohammad Kutkut, both inmates at the Swaqa Correctional and Rehabilitation Center, plotted the breakout shortly before Kutkut's release in November 2005. After being freed, Kutkut allegedly contacted several militants to plan Jaiousi's escape, and then placed machine-guns and live rounds in a getaway vehicle before heading to the prison in late January ¶2006. The plot was reportedly foiled when prison guards heard Jaiousi breaking glass that separated prisoners from their visitors. Police arrested four of the accused outside the prison and seized weapons from a nearby car, according to the charge sheet. DEFENSE ASKS FOR ACQUITTAL FOR BREIZAT CELL - JIPTC PLOT -------------- -------------- ¶6. Defense lawyers for four defendants facing charges of plotting subversive acts against Americans in Jordan asked the SSC to acquit their clients at the opening of their trial on March 22. Indicted in early March for conspiracy to carry out terrorist attacks in Jordan (ref C),the defendants plead not guilty to the charges, which also included possession of illegal weapons. The defense lawyers asserted that the defendants were subjected to torture and duress during their interrogation, and that they were denied access to legal counsel. The prosecution claimed that the four men - Ma'adh Breizat, Ibrahim Jahawha, Faisal Rweidan, and Obada Hiyari - decided in late 2004 to attack Americans instructors at the Jordan International Police Training Center (JIPTC). On one occasion, according to the charges, the defendants followed American instructors from JIPTC to a house near the U.S. Embassy in Amman in August 2005. The defendants allegedly repeated their surveillance trips four times and were arrested by authorities on August 31. 10 SENTENCED FOR TERROR AND ANTI-U.S. PLOTTING -------------- - ¶7. On May 2, the SSC sentenced ten men to prison terms ranging between two to five years for plotting attacks against anti-terrorism officials and Americans working in Jordan. Seven other defendants were acquitted. According to the charge sheet, the 17 defendants were planning to assassinate Jordanian intelligence officers and an unspecified number of Americans with a silencer-equipped sniper rifle (ref D). HALE