JORDAN'S STATE SECURITY COURT MOVES ON TERRORISM

UNCLAS AMMAN 004685 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER PHUM ASEC IZ IS JO SUBJECT: JORDAN'S STATE SECURITY COURT MOVES ON TERRORISM CASES REF: A. 05 AMMAN 8828 ¶B. AMMAN 3325 ¶C. 05 AMMAN 7438 ¶D. AMMAN 2118 ¶1. SUMMARY: Jordan's State Security Court (SSC) continued proceedings against would-be suicide bomber Sajida Rishawi, as well as six defendants charged with firing rockets at two U.S. warships in Aqaba. The SSC began proceedings against nine defendants - including Azmi Jayousi - for an attempted prison break, and against five Jordanians arrested for plotting to carry out attacks in Israel. The SSC indicted seven defendants for planning an Al-Qaeda linked terrorist attack at Queen Alia International Airport, and charged five defendants with preparing to cross illegally into Syria en route to join anti-U.S. insurgents in Iraq. The Mansurah Sect defendants claimed that their confessions were extracted under duress. END SUMMARY. RISHAWI TO PLEAD NOT GUILTY -------------- ¶2. On May 10, Hussein Masri, the lawyer representing Sajida Rishawi - - the Iraqi woman standing trial in connection with last November,s hotel bombings (ref A) -- said that his client intends to plead not guilty. He added that he does not think Rishawi is mentally sound, and that he plans to ask for a psychological evaluation to determine if she is fit to stand trial. Masri also told reporters that her confession was "void" as it was "forced" from her by harsh interrogation procedures. NOTE: In a live confession aired on Jordanian television, the 35-year-old Iraqi national confessed she married her husband to enter Jordan and launch a suicide attack. END NOTE. The SSC appointed Masri to represent Rishawi after the Jordan Bar Association refused to name a defense attorney (ref B). Rishawi is charged with conspiracy to carry out terrorist acts and the illegal possession of weapons and explosives. If found guilty she could be sentenced to death. ¶3. Security officials testifying against Rishawi on June 12 stated that DNA samples taken from Rishawi matched blood and hair samples found at the house rented by the hotel bombing perpetrators, thereby conclusively linking her with the bombers. Major Majid Bdour, Major Ayman Thuneibat and Major Muhanad Salim, from the Public Security Department,s criminal lab, also recounted the procedures adopted by the authorities at the explosion scenes on the night of the bombings. Additional prosecution witnesses are expected to testify as the case proceeds. AQABA ROCKET ATTACK CASE CONTINUES -------------- ¶4. On June 21, security officials testified against six men accused of firing rockets at two U.S. Navy vessels in Aqaba in August 2005. Private First Class Mohammad Ali testified that he searched the vehicle of Syrian defendant Mohammad Sahli a week before the attack and had found a "strange device," but let Sahli go after running his name through a database. Pathologist Damen Abbadi - who performed an autopsy on the Jordanian soldier killed during the attack - testified that the soldier died from internal bleeding resulting from wounds he sustained in the incident. The judge adjourned the trial until early July, when additional witnesses will testify. A total of 12 defendants are being tried in the case - six defendants remain at large and are being tried in absentia (ref B). JAYOUSI PRISON-BREAK TRIAL OPENS -------------- ¶5. The SSC began hearings on June 18 for nine defendants accused of attempting to help Azmi Jayousi, who was sentenced to death in February for plotting a failed chemical attack (ref C),escape from prison. Jayousi and six members of a group who allegedly planned his breakout from Suwaqa prison (south of Amman) at the beginning of March were present at the trial, while defendants Mohammed Abu Darwish and Suleiman al-Injadi were tried in absentia, according to press. The court adjourned the trial after the defendants complained that they could not afford a lawyer. They face charges including possession of automatic weapons without a permit and attempting to free a death-row convict (ref B). FIVE ON TRIAL FOR PLOTS AGAINST ISRAEL -------------- ¶6. The SSC began the trial on May 14 of five Jordanians who were arrested in January for plotting to infiltrate and carry out attacks in Israel, and for possession of automatic weapons to carry out illicit acts. If found guilty, the defendants could face the death penalty. The case was adjourned minutes after it opened because three of the suspects had no defense lawyers. According to the charge sheet, alleged ringleader Khaled Mohammad, 29, recruited the others and plotted "to infiltrate Israel to carry out a military operation against Jews" after failing to join the insurgency in Iraq. Mohammad allegedly sold his wife's jewelry to buy three Kalashnikov assault rifles, which he used to train his accomplices. SUSPECTS INDICTED FOR AIRPORT ATTACK PLOT -------------- ¶7. On June 6, the SSC indicted seven Iraqi, Libyan and Saudi suspects for plotting an Al-Qaeda linked terrorist attack at Queen Alia International Airport. The suspects, including three who remain at large, were charged on two counts of "possessing unlicensed explosives for use in illicit means, and conspiracy to carry out terrorist attacks", judicial sources told press. No date has been set for the trial. The prosecution claims that the defendants - who could face the death penalty - had also planned to target hotels located at the Dead Sea and at Aqaba "because they were frequented by Americans and Jews."Authorities seized 3.6 kilograms of PE-4A heavy explosives when they arrested four of the suspects in early March. According to court documents, the defendants began plotting to carry out attacks last year during meetings both in Jordan and Syria, and through communications on the Internet. FIVE CHARGED WITH PLOTTING TO JOIN IRAQ INSURGENTS -------------- -------------- ¶8. Jordan's state prosecutor on June 6 charged five suspects, including Omar Jamil Nazzal al-Khalayleh -- a cousin of Abu Mus,ab Al-Zarqawi -- with preparing to cross illegally into Syria en route to joining anti-U.S. insurgents in Iraq. The suspects, all Jordanians, are charged with carrying out activity aimed at undermining ties with a foreign nation, attempting an illegal crossing, and abetting such an attempt. The suspects, if found guilty, could face prison sentences of up to 15 years. AL-MANSURAH DEFENDANTS RETRACT CONFESSIONS -------------- ¶9. On May 9, defendants in the Al-Ta'ifah Al-Mansurah (Victorious Sect Organization) recanted their confessions, which they claimed "were extracted under physical and moral duress." Lawyers for the defendants called for acquitting their clients for lack of evidence. Indicted in mid-March, the eight defendants are charged with plotting to carry out terrorist acts, affiliation with an illegal organization, and carrying out acts that could undermine Jordan,s relations with a foreign country (ref D). According to the charge sheet, the defendants planned to carry out military actions against U.S. trainers and Iraqi police cadets at the Jordan International Police Training Center. Rubinstein