 AMMAN - Jordanâs state prosecutor on Tuesday called for the death penalty against Iraqâs most-wanted man, Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, and two other suspects accused of plotting a suicide attack on the border with Iraq. âThe prosecutor wrapped up his case in the trial by re-confirming the charges against the three suspects and calling for the maximum penalty, including the death penalty,â a judicial source told AFP.
Jordanian-born Zarqawi, who has already been sentenced to death in Jordan for the 2002 murder of a US diplomat, and Ismael Mahmud Abu Audeh, a Palestinian also known as Abu Abdel Rahman al-Afghani, are being tried in absentia in the case.
| Doesn't matter how many times you sentence him, just whether you carry it out at least once. |
The only defendant present in court since the trial opened on June 1 is Saudi national Fahd Numan Al Fuhayki who has repeatedly denied any involvement in the plot to carry out a suicide attack on the Iraq border in December 2004.
In mid-September Fuhayki said in a written statement to the court that he had confessed under torture.
| Since he's a Saudi and a wuss, they only needed to use a #3 pliers. |
The three defendants are charged with conspiracy to carry out an attack and possession and transport of explosives for use in an illicit operation, according to court papers. They are specifically accused of plotting a December 3 attack in Al-Karameh, on the Jordanian side of the border with Iraq.
Fuhayki was allegedly due to drive the car to the border and blow it up but his plan fell through when the explosives-laden vehicle fell in a ditch and failed to blow up.
| Usually they have the opposite problem. |
Earlier that same day two members of the multinational forces were killed and five others injured in Trebil, on the Iraqi side of the border, when another car blew up.
The defence will present his conclusions at a hearing before the state security court can convene to pronounce its verdict. No date has been set for the next hearing. |