Jordan Times
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Explosives expert
testifies in chemical attack case
By Rana Husseini
AMMAN — A security expert testifying on Wednesday
in the trial of nine men accused of plotting a chemical attack in the Kingdom,
said the chemical substances he examined were extremely sensitive and dangerous
and would have caused a huge explosion.
General Intelligence Department (GID) explosives expert Colonel Najeh Abu Azam
told the State Security Court (SSC) that if the chemical substances had been
used with explosives they would have caused burns, suffocation and neurological
paralysis.
"I performed an experiment on half a tonne of chemical substances in the desert,
which resulted in the formation of a poisonous chemical cloud that killed the
rabbits used to determine the fatality of these substances," the witness said.
The prosecution has charged that the substances examined by the GID officer were
found in the possession of the main defendant in the case, Azmi Jaiousi.
Jaiousi and the other defendants allegedly plotted to use vehicles laden with
explosives and deadly chemical substances to carry out the first-ever Al Qaeda
attack on vital institutions in the Kingdom, including the GID headquarters.
Col. Abu Azam said he tested some of the chemical substances given to him by the
state prosecution.
The explosives expert also told the tribunal that he examined Jaiousi's 153-page
confession statement.
"Based on the details Jaiousi provided to the authorities on how he planned to
mix the chemicals, I found that he was capable of causing a huge chemical
explosion," the witness said.
At the conclusion of the GID officer's testimony, the defence team asked the
court for permission to conduct an experiment on the seized chemical substances
by a team of explosives experts.
State Prosecutor Mahmoud Obeidat informed the court that it was not possible
because "the rest of the seized chemical substances had been destroyed and it
was extremely dangerous."
The defence team voiced their objection to the prosecution decision to destroy
the seized chemicals.
"These chemical substances are part of the evidence that should remain until the
conclusion of the trial and we wanted to conduct a second experiment to
determine the fatality level of these substances," defence lawyer Hatem Ghweiri
said on behalf of the defence team.
The nine men, part of a group of 13 suspects including Jordanian fugitive Abu
Mussab Zarqawi, are also charged with possessing and manufacturing explosives
with illicit intent, and possessing an automatic weapon with the intention of
using it illegally.
Jaiousi appeared on Jordan Television shortly after his arrest and described how
he and other group members bought and manufactured chemical explosives under the
guidance and support of Zarqawi.
Presiding Judge Fawaz Bqour adjourned the session to hear more prosecution
witnesses in the case.