16 Al Qaeda suspects stand trial
By Nasser Arrabyee/11/03/2009

A group of 16 Al Qaeda suspects including four Syrians one Saudi were put on trial Wednesday on charges of being involved in a series of terrorist attacks in Yemen.


The prosecutor, Rajeha Zaid, accused the men of having implemented a total of 13 armed terrorist operations during 2008, in including killing two Belgian tourists in Hudhramout , and failed attacks on the US and Italian embassies in Sana'a.


The prosecutor said the group, most of them in their 20s, was formed by Hamaza Al Quaiti, the alleged AlQaeda leader who was killed in one of those operations in August 11, 2008.

Some of those young men returned from Iraq to do Jihad in Yemen according to Fatwas from Al Quaiti who escaped along with 22 others from a maximum security prison in Sana'a early 2006.

The prosecutor showed the State Security Court, chaired by Judge Muhsen Alwan, weapons and ammunitions confiscated from the group including explosive belts, mortars, RPGs, TNT, and hand grenades. Two of them were accused bringing money from Saudi Arabia according to orders from their leader Al Quaiti.

All the 16 defendants denied the charges when the Judge asked them one by one. They were also shouting "Allah is greater, Allah is greater," from behind the bars.


The defendants were identified as Rawai Hamed Al Saeri,22, Haithem Sa'ad, 21, Khaled batis,32, Husam Al Amoudi,25, Sultan Al Saeri,25, Ali Al Akbari, 24, Mohamed Ba Awaidhan,26, Saeed Sankar,24, Mohammed Al Wahaibi (Syrian), 25, Mahmoud Derwish (Syrian),23, Mohammed Al Mash-hrani (Syrian), 30, Adnan Al Shati (Syrian) 20, Abdullah Ba Wazeer (Saudi of Yemeni origin) 27, Jamal Jaber,26, Ahmed Ba Ghozwan,35, Mused Al Nahdi,40,.