Jordan Times
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Defence presents
closing argument in chemical attack case
By Rana Husseini
AMMAN — The defence team for nine men standing
trial at the State Security Court (SSC) for plotting the first-ever Al Qaeda
attack in the Kingdom, on Monday asked the tribunal to acquit their clients of
all charges.
The men, part of a group of 13 suspects including Jordanian fugitive Abu Mussab
Zarqawi, are charged with plotting subversive acts against the General
Intelligence Department (GID), the Prime Ministry and the American embassy in
Amman.
The state prosecution also charged the group with possessing and manufacturing
explosives with illicit intent, and possessing an automatic weapon with the
intention of using it illegally.
“My client [the main suspect in the case Azmi Jaiousi] is a carpenter with a
ninth-grade education so it is impossible for him to know chemistry or the
equations needed to mix deadly chemical substances,” Jaiousi's lawyer Samih
Khreis told the court.
Khreis also contested the interrogation procedures conducted by the state
prosecutor and the security forces, charging that his client was detained for
over a month for interrogation and subjected to torture and duress.
Although the state prosecutor listed in his charge sheet that he was a target
for the group, at the same time he was the interrogator, Khreis said.
“It was impossible for the prosecutor to be objective in his interrogation
knowing he was targeted by my client and the rest of the defendants. This is
human nature,” Khreis said.
The lawyer also referred to the chemical substances allegedly found in the
possession of the defendants, which were destroyed by the authorities shortly
after the group was arrested.
“By destroying the chemicals we lost our chance of examining these substances to
establish if they were really dangerous as the prosecution has alleged,” Khreis
added.
In July 2005, Jaiousi and three other defendants admitted that they targeted the
regime, the government and the GID in 2004.
Jaiousi appeared on Jordan Television shortly after his arrest in April 2004 and
described how he and other group members bought and manufactured chemical
explosives under the guidance and support of Zarqawi.
“I believe Jaiousi was only the preliminary stages and his situation matches
that of a person who wanted to launch an attack but changed his mind or was
arrested before being able to carry out his plans,” Khreis said.
The rest of the defence team reiterated Khreis' claims in their closing
arguments, saying the chemical substances destroyed by the authorities are
available in the local market and there is no law that bans people from buying
them.
“Their plans were all in the preliminary stages and they never used any of the
substances allegedly found in their possession or launched any attack,” lawyer
Mohammad Muhiar said.
The chemical substances the prosecution referred to are used in the agricultural
sector and to manufacture batteries, Muhiar added.
Muhiar, Khreis and the rest of the defence team charged that the prosecution
refused to appoint lawyers for their clients during the interrogation and asked
the court to acquit their clients of all charges.
The tribunal postponed the session indefinitely to issue a verdict.