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Al-Ahram Weekly 12 - 18 August 1999 Issue No. 442 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 12 - 18 August 1999 Issue No. 442
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Books Features Travel Living Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters Yemen jails militants
A LONDON-based Islamist militant has threatened reprisals against Yemen after eight Muslim Britons and two Algerians were found guilty of plotting to bomb Aden and sentenced to jail terms ranging from three to seven years.
Abu Hamza El-Masri, whose own son and son-in-law were sentenced to jail terms, claimed that the verdicts "show the Yemeni government wants an escalation with the Islamists."
"Islamists will not delay in defending themselves and defending their brothers," he said.
Five Britons and the two Algerians were convicted of plotting to bomb a church, a restaurant, a hotel, the British consulate and a UN building in Aden. Three other British Muslims were also convicted, but were released on the basis of having served seven months in prison.
They were allegedly sent to Yemen by Abu Hamza, who runs a media centre in London which distributes statements issued by armed militant groups fighting against their governments in several Arab countries.
Abu Hamza expressed his grief at the three-year sentence passed against his son Mohamed Mustafa Kamel, 17. His son-in-law, Mohsen Ghalain, 18, was jailed for seven years. The group had pleaded not guilty and claimed that their confessions were obtained under duress.
Aden's chief prosecutor said on Tuesday he would appeal the verdicts and sentences, calling for stiffer penalties. The casually dressed defendants, who had grown beards in their eight months in captivity, shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is Great) when their sentences were read out before a well-guarded court packed with their families and journalists on Monday.
The families of the British Muslims slammed the decision as politically motivated and they asked their government to do all it could to ensure the sentences were commuted and the men returned to Britain.
