US embassy cable - 03AMMAN8021

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