An Iraqi who held UN employees hostage last year was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for attempted murder Monday, reported The Associated Press, published on Haaretz’s website.
Fuad Hussein Haider, 38, was convicted of the attempted murder of two guards of the Food and Agricultural Organization building in Baghdad where he held people hostage last June. Two other FAO staffers were killed in a bid to rescue the hostages.
The state withdrew charges of murder, said the AP.
The United Nations had criticized Iraq for failing to bring Haider to justice promptly.
The FAO employees killed in the attack were Yusuf Abdilleh, a Somali administrative officer and Marewan Mohammed Hassan, an Iraqi information technology worker.
Delivering judgement on Monday, Judge Lukman Thabit said: “since it was not proved that he has killed two of the FAO's employees because witnesses, including those who work for the FAO, have testified that he did not kill them, the state decided to drop the murder charges.”
The judge sentenced Haider to five years and one month for one count of attempted murder and five years and 6 months on a second count, said the agency, adding that the sentences will run consecutively and will take into account Haider's 10 months' in detention while awaiting trial.
Haider, a mechanic, managed to gain entrance to the FAO building on June 28 and hold the occupants hostage.
In an exceptional move, the Iraqi authorities allowed Haider to address the media hours after he surrendered. He said he had wanted to take FAO officials hostage to protest the UN sanctions enforced against Iraq since its 1990 invasion of Kuwait – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
