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Lawyers Appeal Death Sentence Of Arab American In Jordan
WASHINGTON, March 15 (IslamOnline and News Agencies) – One month after the death sentence was served, the defense team of an Arab American of Jordanian descent appealed, one of his lawyers said Friday.
Taysseer Ziab told news agencies that the appeal "to declare Raed Hijazi not guilty of any wrongdoing" was lodged Tuesday at the Court of Cassation, or high court of appeals, in Amman.
"All the proceedings against him were in violation of the law," Ziab said.
"All the acts he was accused of were merely hearsay that do not deserve the death penalty," the lawyer said, adding that the state prosecutor failed to provide the court with proof of Hijazi's guilt.
"Even the person whom they had allegedly accused of selling him a Kalashnikov rifle was acquitted," the lawyer added.
Hijazi was sentenced to death on February 11 on several counts, including conspiracy to carry out attacks on U.S. and Jewish tourists during 2000 millennium celebrations in Jordan.
But Jordan's state security court acquitted him of illegal membership in Al-Qaeda, the terror network of bin Laden, the prime suspect in the September 11 strikes on the United States.
The court nevertheless accused him of going to Afghanistan in a camp overseen by Bin Laden to train in the use of weapons.
"I believe Raed Hijazi is part of Al Qaeda," said Mahmoud Awwad Kharabsheh, a former intelligence agent who headed Jordan's terrorism investigations until 1992 and now is a member of parliament. "He had the relationship in Afghanistan and went back and forth."
However, Hijazi asserted his innocence during his trial saying simply, “"I did not plan to carry out terrorist attacks.” He also accused authorities of forcing a confession through torture.
Washington included the name of the 32-year-old former Boston taxi driver on a U.S. list of "terrorists" published after the September 11 airborne attacks on targets in New York and Washington.
Hijazi was among six people given the death penalty in the September 2000 trial, six others were completely acquitted while the rest were given jail sentences ranging from life to seven and a half years.
Subsequently Hijazi was arrested in Syria and extradited to Jordan, where he was retried on the same charges. Jordanian law guarantees a retrial to anyone convicted in absentia if they are subsequently captured.
A New York-based criminal justice lawyer, who has followed the case, told IslamOnline under the condition of anonymity that the Jordan court has failed to prove any of the charges filed against Hijazi and that it is “perfectly believable he [Hijazi] was tortured into a confession.”
He did not speculate, however, as to whether it was possible that an al-Qaeda attack on Jordan could have been in the works, saying only that “during millennium celebrations around the world rumors of ‘terrorist’ attacks were rampant and amounted to nothing.”
He also went on to say that Hijazi is “in a bind” as he cannot seek asylum or help from the U.S. due to his presence on the U.S. terrorist list. He also said that he is unsure as to what evidence the U.S. claims it has linking Hijazi to al-Qaeda.
With additional reporting by Neveen A. Salem.
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