False Terror Cell?
AFP:
A man charged with distributing false documents claiming Saudi Arabia and Kuwait were funding a terrorist cell to target tourists in Egypt went on trial in the Yemeni capital Tuesday.
Yemeni Hamad al-Thahouk, 50, contacted an employee of the Egyptian embassy in Sanaa in March and asked for money in return for documents stating Saudi Arabia and Kuwait were financing a cell in Yemen, the prosecution said.
The documents stated the cell was preparing, with the permission of the Yemeni government, to travel to Egypt to target tourists.
“Thahouk … aimed to unlawfully pass on false and misleading information about Arab states,” the prosecution said.
The judge adjorned the trial until July 10 for the defence to prepare its response.
SANA’A, June 26 — Hamad Ali Al-Dhahook denied the accusations, related to contacting a number of unknown Arab countries to harm Yemen’s interests, last Tuesday.
Al-Dhahook, 50 years old, refuted the accusations in the first session held by the Court of the National Security Issues. The accusation resolution was cited by the representative of the General Prosecutor, Hamoud Ishaq, to the trial court headed by Judge Najeeb Al-Kadri. The resolution said, ” On March 7th, Al-Dhahook tried to contact one of the employees in the Egyptian Embassy in Sana’a to convey false information about Arab countries; Kuwait and Saudi Arabia as well as other gulf countries, pretending that these countries support and train a terror group in Yemen so as to be sent to Egypt to carry out terrorist acts targeting to harm the tourist sector.”
The resolution indicated that Al-Dhahook submitted some documents to one of the employees in the Egyptian embassy in Sana’a. These documents contain information which indicate that Kuwait and Saudi Arabia support terrorist elements in Yemen to attack the tourist sector in Egypt. Al-Dhahook demanded some amount of money in return for that, according to the indictment.
The representative of the General Prosecutor, who pointed out that this act aims at harming the Yemeni political and diplomatic relations with other countries, requested to punish the accused severely.
However the court decided to postpone the case two weeks from now to enable the Al-Dhahook’s lawyer to have the case file in order to enable the General Prosecutor raise the evidences.
Update: 6/30
Almotamar.net - The Specialised Penal Prosecution finished Saturday interrogation with another a person accused of contacting an Arab state and who is in relation with another previous Yemeni defendant who stood trial last Tuesday in the capital Sana’a.
A court source told almotamar.net the new defendant is a government employee and was arrested over information given by the previous defendant Hamad Ali Hamad al-Dhahouk who was last Tuesday faced a charge of giving false information to the Egyptian embassy on Saudi Arabia and Kuwait offering support to terrorist elements in Yemen to strike Egyptian tourist facilities and violation of the Egyptian security under allegation of the Yemeni knowledge about that.
The source added that investigations that began last Wednesday have been completed and the defendant will stand trial in a short time at the same court where al-Dhahouk was tried and on the same charge.
The first instant section at the penal court had fixed next Tuesday a date for holding a second sitting for trying the main defendant al-Dhahouk in response to request from the prosecution and lawyer of the defendant for presenting evidence and photocopying the case file.
