US embassy cable - 05AMMAN2094

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 002094 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER, ASEC, PGOV, PHUM, JO 
SUBJECT: JORDAN'S STATE SECURITY COURT MOVES ON CASES 
INVOLVING ANTI-U.S. PLOTTERS 
 
REF: AMMAN 345 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  Two groups of local extremists charged with targeting 
U.S., Israeli, and GOJ interests last year appeared before 
the State Security Court in separate trials on March 7.  The 
court also began the re-trial of Mustafa Siyyam, arrested in 
Iraq last year, on charges that he plotted to kill a 
Jordanian intelligence officer in Amman in 2001.  Siyyam, who 
was convicted in absentia for the crime, complained to the 
court that he was tortured at the hands of U.S. troops in 
Iraq before his handover to Jordanian authorities in March 
2004.  End Summary. 
 
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TAHAWI CELL MEMBERS APPEAR IN COURT 
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2.  Fifteen men accused of plotting attacks against U.S., 
Israeli and GOJ targets in Jordan in 2004 appeared in the 
State Security Court on March 7.  They also are charged with 
possessing unlicensed weapons (ref A).  The men, known as the 
Tahawi cell, were led, according to prosecutors, by Jordanian 
extremist Abed Shihadah al-Tahawi of the northern town of 
Irbid.  They pleaded not guilty to the charges, but refused 
to answer Judge Bqour's inquiry about whether they had 
appointed lawyers to defend them.  A sixteenth suspect, 
Khalid Fawzi, is being tried in absentia.  The court decided 
to proceed with the case, but adjourned until March 14, when 
it will begin hearing prosecution witnesses.  The group, 
which allegedly subscribes to a takfiri ideology, does not 
appear to have links to any organization. 
 
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TRIAL OF ANOTHER FOUR MOVES AHEAD 
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3.  A separate trial of four other men accused of plotting to 
attack foreign tourists in Jordan, as well as Jordanian 
General Intelligence Directorate (GID) personnel, also 
convened on March 7, but adjourned until March 14 because 
prosecution witnesses failed to appear in court (ref A). 
They are also charged with possessing weapons and ammunition 
with illicit intent.  The men, who hail from the area of the 
Palestinian refugee camp in Irbid, were arrested in August 
and September 2004.  They pleaded not guilty to all charges 
during a court appearance on February 21.  Two prosecution 
witnesses testified on February 28, including a security 
officer who said one of the defendants confessed to all the 
charges under "his own free will." 
 
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SIYYAM CLAIMS TORTURE IN U.S. CUSTODY 
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4.  The State Security Court also began the trial of 
28-year-old Mustafa Siyyam, who was sentenced to death in 
absentia for his role in a car bombing against General 
Intelligence Directorate officer Lt. Col. Ali Burjaq in Amman 
in February 2001.  Burjaq survived the attack, but two 
passersby were killed.  U.S. forces apprehended Siyyam in 
Iraq last year and transferred him to Jordanian custody for 
re-trial.  During a court appearance on March 7, Siyyam 
pleaded not guilty to the charges, and disputed the 
prosecution's allegations that he had received military 
training in Afghanistan. 
 
5.  In a two-page statement, Siyyam said: "I was not in 
Jordan at the time of the attack and have never been to 
Afghanistan in my life.  I was arrested by the American 
forces in Iraq on August 15, 2003 and detained at the airport 
and Abu Ghreib prison."  He claimed he was tortured in U.S. 
custody during his time at Abu Ghreib: "I was placed in a 
coffin for over a month, then I was locked in a small dark 
cell.  I was naked and was one of the people in the photos 
that were printed in the international press."  Siyyam says 
he was handed over to the Jordanian security forces in March 
2004 and was again "subjected to all forces of torture and 
duress and was very weak and could not think properly... My 
confessions in front of the state prosecution are not 
correct.  I do not know Ali Burjaq and I do not believe in 
spilling Muslim blood," he added. 
 
6.  Siyyam is one of seven men originally charged with 
placing a bomb under the car of Burjaq's wife in front of 
their home, killing two passersby.  The main suspect in the 
case, Mohammad Arafat, was sentenced to death for planting 
the bomb, but his sentenced was reduced to life in prison 
after he was granted a royal amnesty last month, his attorney 
told a local reporter. 
 
7.  Baghdad minimize considered. 
 
Please visit Embassy Amman's classified web site at 
http://www.state.sgov/p/nea/amman/ or access the site through 
the Department of State's SIPRNET home page. 
HALE