Jordan's military court convicted 15 men - all but one of whom remain at-large - on Wednesday for a plan targeting unspecified American and Israeli interests in Jordan as well as Jordanian intelligence officials.
The court said it found Ahmad Mahmoud Saleh al-Riyati, 34, to be the mastermind of the 15-member cell linked to Osama bin Ladn's al-Qaeda and Ansar al-Islam groups. Al-Riyati, the only suspect in custody, was sentenced to 15 years in jail, but the sentence was quickly commuted to 7 1/2 years.
According to The AP, eight of the other 14 sentenced to 15 years in jail with hard labor.
The court formally dropped charges against the remaining six, saying they had died. According to military prosecution sources, they were killed fighting US troops in Iraq.
At the October outset of the trial, al-Riyati pleaded innocent and denied involvement in any terror conspiracies. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
