Gulf | Yemen
Yemen reduces jail term for Al Qaida suspect
A Yemeni court has reduced the jail term of an Al Qaida suspect on the US most wanted list, judicial sources said on Saturday.
- By Nasser Arrabyee, Correspondent
- Published: 18:03 November 8, 2008
Sana'a: A Yemeni appeals court on Saturday reduced the jail term against a Yemeni-American citizen wanted by the FBI for terror charges, from ten to five years.
Chaired by Judge Mohammad Al Hakaimi, the Appeals State Security Court said it reduced the 10-year jail term of Jaber Al Bana'a to five years because he "surrendered himself to the authorities".
Al Bana'a, 41, appeared yesterday behind bars in the special court with 32 other defendants of the 36-member group who all were accused of trying to attack oil installations with two car bombs in Mareb and Hudhrmout eastern Yemen in September 2006.
The appeals court also reduced the prison term of Emad Shas from five to three years and acquitted four other defendants including Hussain Al Dharhani, who was working as a bodyguard of the opposition presidential election candidate, Faisal Bin Shamaln in 2006.
The court upheld the verdicts against 30 other defendants whose sentences ranged from two to 15 years in prison.
Upheld
The 15-year jail term was upheld against the absent defendants, Nasser Al Wahaishi, and Kasem Al Raimi, self-proclaimed leaders of Al Qaida in Yemen, and their colleague Ebrahim Howiedi, who are all still at large.
A 12-year term was upheld against Humza Al Quaiti, the other alleged leader of Al Qaida who was killed in Hudhrmout with four other Al Qaida operative in clashes with security men last August.
Al Wahaishi, Al Raimi, and Howeidi are among the group of 23 prisoners who escaped from a maximum security prison in Sana'a early 2006.
In 2003, the US government declared a $5 million reward for Al Bana'a's capture.
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