Trial of 16 men accused of carrying out terrorist acts in Yemen

SANA'A, March 11 (Saba) - A Primary Penal Court launched on
Wednesday the trial of 16 suspected al-Qaeda militants, including 11
Yemenis, four Syrians and a Saudi, accused of forming an armed gang
and carrying out several terrorist acts during December 2007- August
2008.

The terrorist acts included bomb attacks on oil institutions,
military camps and police checkpoints as well as assaulting
foreigners in embassies, companies and their residences in Sana'a,
Hadramout and Aden governorates.

In the first hearing chaired by Judge Muhsen Alwan, the prosecution
recited a list of charges and evidences against the defendants.

The prosecution demonstrated that the defendants had formed an armed
gang for carrying out a number of crime and terrorist acts during
the period from December 2007 through August 2008.

The prosecution said that the suspected militants had prepared all
needful means of explosives, weapons, transport, forging car plate
numbers, bomb-cars and motorcycles, renting houses and shops,
telecommunication sets, false identities and military uniforms and
women clothes for disguising.

The accusations' list revealed that the suspects attacked in January
2008 a European tourist group and Yemeni workers at al-Hajarein area
of Hadramout governorate, killing two Belgian tourists and their
Yemeni driver and injuring others.

In March 2008, using mortars, they attacked a school nearby the US
embassy in the capital Sana'a, injuring a number of the embassy's
guards and the school's female students as well as damages in public
and private properties.

In the same month, they made explosions in the main pipeline of
TOTAL company, which led to damages in the pipeline and leaking big
quantities of oil, a Chinese company and a residential complex of
Canadian Nexen company in Sana'a.

In addition, the gang has carried out a number of explosions in
police patrols in several areas of Hadramout, injuring a number of
soldiers.

The prosecution also recited the evidences list which included the
confessions of the defendants during the prosecution's
investigations, reports, documents and a list of seized evidences,
demanding the court to apply the maximum lawful penalty against them.

For their part, the suspects denied the accusations. The court asked
the prosecution to present its evidences in the coming hearing and
adjourned the case until 17 March.