Jordan Times
Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Defence asks for acquittal in Foley trial
By Rana Husseini
AMMAN — The defence team in the case of 11 men, standing trial at the State Security Court on charges of assassinating American diplomat Lawrence Foley in October 2002, on Tuesday asked the court to acquit their clients of all charges.Five of the 11 men are standing trial on charges of assassinate USAID diplomat Laurence Foley, 62, outside his Amman home on Oct. 28, 2002. The remaining six are at large.
The suspects include prime suspect in the case Salem Ben Suwayyed, a Libyan national, who is accused by the prosecution of pulling the trigger on Foley.
They are also accused of possessing illegal weapons with illicit intent.
Attorneys Hussein Mjalli, Samih Khreis and Mohammad Muhiar read their closing arguments in court, contesting the court's jurisdiction.
“Our clients should have been tried at the Criminal Court and not at a military tribunal,” the defence team argued.
They also charged that their clients' confessions were extracted under torture and duress by the security forces while they were in detention.
The state prosecutor had asked the tribunal to hand the defendants the death penalty.
The state prosecution had contested the defendants' past allegations of torture, saying they had not presented any solid evidence to support their claims.
The tribunal, presided over by Judge Fawaz Bqour, adjourned the session indefinitely to issue a verdict in the case.