Jordan Times
Saturday, November 12, 2005
Major terrorism trials
in the Kingdom since 1994
Compiled by Rana Husseini
Following is a chronology of those convicted by the State Security Court of
orchestrating and planning major terrorist incidents in the Kingdom:
December 1994 — The State Security Court (SSC)
sentenced 11 men, including three in absentia, for terrorist acts including bomb
attacks on cinemas which wounded nine people. The higher court acquitted 10 of
the 11-member group known as the "Arab Afghan" and sentenced one man to life.
March 1996 — Three people, belonging to a group called the Islamic
Revivalist, were sentenced to seven-and-a-half years by the SSC on charges of
possessing explosives. They had planned to attack foreigners in Jordan by using
explosives and automatic weapons.
November 1996 — The SSC sentenced one man to life and another to 10 years
imprisonment after convicting them of sabotage and the manufacture and
possession of explosives. The same two were acquitted by the Criminal Court in
October 1998 of the attempted murder of a former diplomat at the French embassy.
November 1996 — The SSC sentenced 10 men to jail terms ranging from life
imprisonment to two years for attempted sabotage and lese majeste. The group,
known as Bayat Al Imam (pledge of allegiance to the leader), have targetted
foreigners in the Kingdom. Their leader, according to the prosecution, was
Mohammad Taher Mohammad, also known as Abu Mohammad Al Maqdessi.
November 1996 — Five men were each sentenced to a 15-year prison term on
charges of plotting to attack the General Intelligence Department (GID) building
in Baqaa.
February 1997 — The SSC sentenced three men to death after convicting
them of plotting subversive acts and possessing illegal arms and explosives with
illicit intent. The men collected minefields from a field in Ajloun to carry out
terrorist acts against Israeli tourists.
December 1997 — The SSC sentenced five men to prison terms ranging from
10 to 15 years with hard labour after finding them guilty of possessing illegal
weapons and plotting attacks against Israelis in Israel and the Palestinian
territories.
October 1998 — The SCC sentenced a man to two-and-a-half years in prison
after convicting him of throwing a petrol bomb at the British embassy in Amman
in February 1998.
May 1999 — The SSC sentenced three men to prison terms ranging from five
to seven-and-a-half years after finding them guilty of plotting subversive acts
against Israeli tourist buses in the Kingdom in February 1998.
2000 — Ten men received sentences ranging from death penalty to
seven-and-a-half years in prison by the SSC for plotting subversive acts against
US and Israeli targets in Jordan and for belonging to the Al Qaeda network.
Their trial was dubbed by the press as the "millennium case" because they
plotted to carry out bombings during the New Years celebrations in Jordan
against Christian religious sites and Israeli targets. (Their verdicts are
currently being reviewed by the Cassation Court)
February 2002 — The SSC sentenced Jordanian-American Raed Hijazi to death
after convicting him of plotting subversive acts in the Kingdom and
manufacturing explosives. He also received a death sentence for being part of
the "millennium case" group (His verdict is currently being reviewed by the
Cassation Court).
April 2003 — The SSC sentenced seven men to prison terms ranging from
life to one year after being convicted for plotting subversive acts resulting in
the deaths of two people. Two Arab workers were killed when a bomb was placed
under the car of a Jordanian GID officer.
April 2004 — The SSC sentenced eight men to death, including six in
absentia, for plotting the assassination of US diplomat Lawrence Foley in front
of his home in October 2002. Two other defendants received six and 15 years in
prison as accessories to the crime. The court also said that the defendants
plotted to carry out attacks against US and Israeli targets in Jordan, a
military airport and GID officers.
May 2004 — Three men each received a three-year prison term by the SCC
after being convicted of conspiring to attack American and Jewish tourists in
the Kingdom. One of the three defendants was the nephew of Jordanian fugitive
Abu Mussab Zarqawi.
June 2004 — The SSC sentenced a 35-year-old man to seven-and-a-half years in
prison after convicting him of belonging to Al Qaeda and plotting subversive
acts against American and Israeli targets in the Kingdom. Eight other Jordanian
men being tried in absentia for the same charges were each handed a 15-year
prison sentence by the tribunal.
December 2004 — The SSC sentenced 11 men to prison terms ranging from six
to 15 years after convicting them of possessing explosives. Thirteen other men
were acquitted of the charges by the military tribunal.
July 2005 — Four men were convicted by the SSC of plotting subversive
acts against security personnel and tourists in the Kingdom. The charge sheet
said the four men, who embrace takfir thoughts (labelling people as apostates),
talked about the need to kill "foreign and Jewish" tourists visiting various
areas of the Kingdom. The group also planned to attack the GID personnel and
vehicles, according to the charge sheet.
July 2005 — The SSC sentenced three men to prison terms ranging from one to
three years for plotting subversive acts against Jews in the Hassan Industrial
Estate in Irbid.
September 2005 — The SSC sentenced 12 men to prison terms ranging from
three years to one-and-a-half year after convicting them of plotting subversive
acts against foreigners in Jordan, including the residence of the Israeli
ambassador in Amman. They also targetted the American and Israeli embassies.
October 2005 — Three men received prison terms ranging from five to
one-and-a-half years after being convicted by the SSC of plotting attacks
against foreign tourists in Aqaba and liquor stores in Amman. The prosecution
charge sheet said the defendants decided to fight in Iraq in 2004 but changed
their minds and planned to attack targets in the Kingdom.
Current trials pending
• Nine men, believed to be affiliated to Jordanian fugitive Abu Mussab Zarqawi,
are currently standing trial at the SCC on charges of plotting the first-ever Al
Qaida chemical attack in the Kingdom in 2004. Four other men are being tried in
absentia.
• A Saudi man is currently being tried at the SSC along with Jordanian fugitive
Abu Mussab Zarqawi, of plotting to launch a suicide attack with a car laden with
explosives on tankers in the Karameh border post in December 2004.
• In July 2005, the state prosecutor officially charged Issam Barqawi, known as
Abu Mohammed Maqdissi, with plotting subversive acts in the Kingdom. Maqdissi
had previously been released from custody on July 2, six months after being
acquitted by the SSC on charges of plotting subversive acts and possessing
explosive substances in Mafraq for "lack of evidence."
• Seventeen people, including a Syrian, are currently being tried at the SSC on
charges of plotting attacks against GID officers and US forces training Iraqi
troops in the Kingdom. The prosecution has charged the men with links to Zarqawi
and the Al Qaeda network.
• Seven men are currently standing trial at the SSC on charges of plotting to
recruit militants to fight US forces in Iraq. The charge sheet said the
defendants recruited militants in Jordan and sent them to Syria, where an
individual named Abu Janna provided them with military training.