Al-Zarqawi and 10 others indicted over Jordan attacks
Jordan’s military prosecutor has concluded his investigation into last year’s hotel bombings in Amman and plans to indict 11 people, including the al-Qaida in Iraq chief Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, according to court documents.
The nine-page draft indictment said Iraqi female would-be suicide bomber, Sajida Mubarak al-Rishawi, 35, would be the only one from those indicted who will stand trial in Jordan’s military State Security Court.
The remaining 10 include Jordanian-born al-Zarqawi, another Jordanian male fugitive and five Iraqis, who also are on the run and include a second woman, according to the documents.
Charges are expected to be dropped against the three suicide bombers, who include al-Rishawi’s husband, because they are dead.
The draft indictment will become formal once presented to the military tribunal that will try the case.
Court officials said the military prosecutor is likely to present the indictment to the court within weeks.
No trial date has yet been set.
The 11 are charged with illegally possessing explosives and conspiring to commit terrorist attacks, which led to death of innocent civilians – crimes that are punishable by death.
Al-Rishawi made televised confessions four days after the blasts, detailing how she, her husband – Ali Hussein Ali al-Shamari – and the two other Iraqi bombers – identified as Rawad Jassem Mohammed Abed and Safaa Mohammed Ali - planned their attacks.
Al-Zarqawi’s al-Qaida in Iraq group claimed responsibility for the bombings and vowed more strikes against Jordan, a staunch US Arab ally and a peace partner with Israel.
Jordan has been the target of several al-Qaida terror plots because of its moderate stance and vocal criticism of extremist Muslim groups.
Jordanian government officials say al-Zarqawi holds a grudge against his native Jordan because he was jailed here in the 1990s.
Jordan’s military court has so far sentenced al-Zarqawi to death in absentia three times for his involvement in different terror plots against the country, including one which led to the killing of US aid worker Laurence Foley, who was gunned down outside his Amman home in October 2002.
