On Monday, the State Security Specialized Penal Court (SSSPC) sentenced two suspects to five years in prison for attempting to assassinate former U.S. Ambassador to Yemen, Edmund Hall, in 2004. Under the verdict, Hozam Al-Mas and Khalid Al-Halilah faced a maximum five-year imprisonment term after being convicted of charges attributed to them by the Attorney General. Issued by Judge Umar Al-BaÂ’adani, the verdict stated that the suspects will be jailed in special places and receive kind treatment while their seized explosives will be confiscated to the StateÂ’s Treasury. Seized weapons included hand grenades and a Russian-made pistol.The court began trying the suspects in January on charges of attempting to kill the U.S. envoy. They threw a hand grenade at him as he was entering a shop in the Hadda area. Charges were based on the Attorney GeneralÂ’s indictment that the suspects observed the ambassadorÂ’s car in Al-SabÂ’een area, SanaÂ’a. Accomplice Al-Halilah waited inside a taxi while Al-Mas jumped from the shopÂ’s fence carrying a pistol and two hand grenades, plotting to kill the envoy after he parked his car and entered the shop. When a policeman saw him and ordered him to stop, Al-Mas fired on police and fled the scene.
Al-Mas pleaded guilty to attempting to kill the ambassador, but told the SSSPC he was