Jordan: Nine sentenced to death for 2002 unrest
Jordan’s military court today condemned to death nine militants, including four fugitives, for instigating violent unrest in southern Jordan in 2002.
A 10th man, part of a group of 108 defendants on trial, was sentenced to 10 years in jail with hard labour.
Several others received prison terms ranging from one to five years and more than 70 were acquitted for lack of evidence. A breakdown for the lesser prison sentences and acquittals was not immediately available.
The 108 defendants – with only six in police custody and the rest at large - were charged with seven crimes, including launching terrorist attacks in November 2002 in the city of Maan, about 130 miles south of Amman, the Jordanian capital.
Six people, including two policemen, were killed in shoot-outs between gunmen and police.
