Jordan Times
Friday, July 13, 2006
Syrian sentenced for
sending threatening e-mails
Prison term halved ‘to give him a second chance in life’
By Rana Husseini
AMMAN — The State Security Court (SSC) on
Thursday sentenced a Syrian man to two-and-a-half-years in prison after
convicting him of sending e-mails in which he threatened terrorist acts in the
country.
Yousef Daghestani, 29, a blacksmith, was first handed a five-year prison term by
the SSC prosecutor for threatening the use of force to disrupt security and
spread panic among people following the Nov. 9, 2005, triple bombings in Amman.
But his sentence was immediately halved by the tribunal “to give him a second
chance in life because the defendant is young and lives away from home.”
Under the user name 911 and with the password “blood,” the defendant posted
threatening text in the Jordan Information Centre’s (JIC) online political
forum, the charge sheet said.
Daghestani pleaded not guilty to the charges in a previous court session,
telling the tribunal “I was exhausted and drunk after drinking some vodka. I
believe someone else used the computer I was using to post the text.”
In Daghestani’s three-page written testimony, he claimed that he was subjected
to torture and duress by the security forces shortly after his arrest.
The text of the e-mail read: “If you think that you have ended us then you are
mistaken. Watch out for new and mass explosions at a strategic place, which has
many infidels... I demand JD1 million in ransom and the release of my sister
Sajida. Ha ha ha. Death has approached you infidels,” according to court
documents.
He was referring to Sajida Rishawi, the female would-be suicide bomber whose
explosive belt failed to detonate when she and three fellow terrorists attacked
three of the capital’s hotels in November 2005, killing 60 people.
Daghestani arrived in the country in September 2005 and was employed by a shop
in Jerash, the charge sheet said.
The defendant was visiting relatives in Zarqa on Nov. 18, when he went to an
Internet café and allegedly posted the text on the JIC website, the charge sheet
added.
He was arrested shortly after the incident and confessed, according to court
documents.
Daghestani’s verdict is subject to appeal by the SSC general attorney and the
defendant within the next 30 days.