Jordan's military court convicted six alleged al Qaeda members of planning suicide attacks against the kingdom's main international airport and against hotels hosting Israeli and American tourists.
None of the attacks was carried out. The six, who included three fugitives not present at the trial, received jail terms ranging from 15 years to life with hard labor. A seventh man, 48-year-old Iraqi Abdul-Karim Ikhdeir al-Jmeily, was acquitted for lack of evidence.
According to the AP, lawyer Abdul-Rahman al-Majali said he would appeal the guilty verdicts.
The seven were all non-Jordanians and included five Iraqis, a Libyan and a Saudi. They were also charged with allegedly planning attacks on Israeli and American tourists in hotels on the Dead Sea and the Red Sea port of Aqaba, and with illegal possession of explosives.
Police announced the plot in June 2006, and said the arrests were made over a period of weeks last year.
The alleged mastermind, 24-year-old Libyan Mohammed al-Darsi, and four others were sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labor. "Glory to the mujahedeen (holy warriors)," he yelled, then turned to his military judges and said: "We're not afraid of your judgment."
He warned the court that there were many others like him willing to fight and give their lives. "We won't surrender. Our holy battle will continue until martyrdom. You have to keep fighting back, because there will be many others like us in generations to come," he said.
