VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAM #3325/01 1310520
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 110520Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 0242

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