By: Tareq Muharram (almotamar.net) - SANA'A- The Sana'a-based Penal Court's Appeal Division today held a session to hear the petitions of appeals submitted by six out of 14 people charged with forming an armed gang to target Americans based in Yemen as well as security institutions.
The suspects' advocate offered petitions of appeal with regard to the preliminary verdict, whereby he criticized the evidence on which the prosecution depended, adding the minutes were prepared at the political security and so procedures were illegal.
He said there is no evidence that the suspects have been involved in forming an armed gang. They only wanted to join Jihad in Iraq as they were moved by the massacres made there, he added.
The lawyer asked the court to cancel the verdict released by the first instant court.
Meanwhile, suspect Mohammed Ali Haidar confessed he had forged stamps for security institutions in an effort to help other suspects travel to Iraq, stating he had to do so due to the American killings of innocent in Iraq.
The court decided to adjourn the session till next Sunday so that the prosecution can reply to the petitions of appeals.
Last April, the court convicted the suspects of targeting foreign military figures, including Americans, in Yemen. The court sentenced Ali Mohammed Sufian al-Ammari to 7 years in prison; Al-Zubair Abdul-Rahman al-Mekhlafi to 5 years; Abdul-Aziz al-Futaini 3 years; Ibrahim al-Wesabi 4 years; Hasan Sa'd al-Hada 5 years; Badr Rashed al-Wesabi 3 years; Khalid Futaini one and a half year; Jamal Abdul-Nasser al-Qamadi 5 years; Mohammed Ali Hair 6 years; Ammar Ahmed al-Muradi 6 years; Sami Mohammed al-Shabi 5 years and Adnan Wajeeh al-Deen one and a half year.