ALKHOBAR, 12 September — The Denver District Attorney’s Office announced that a court date has been set for accused Saudi national Naif Al-Yousif. His trial for the kidnapping and murder of Saudi college student Abdulaziz Al-Koohaji is now scheduled to begin in Denver, Colorado, on Jan. 27, 2003.
According to Lynn Kimbrough, communications director, Denver District Attorney’s Office, there has been a rotation in courtroom assignments, with Denver District Court Judge William Meyer being replaced by Denver District Judge Gloria Rivera, as the presiding judge at Al-Yousif’s trial.
Rivera has a reputation as a tough but fair judge. A former deputy district attorney in Denver, Rivera specialized in criminal prosecutions for 10 years before becoming a judge. At the time of her appointment to Denver’s 2nd Judicial District in 1999, Colorado Governor Bill Owens said, "Gloria Rivera is an excellent prosecutor and will fight for the rights of victims and their families. It is extremely important to have someone on the bench who will put criminals behind bars where they belong."
Al-Yousif has been in custody in Denver since January 2001 and that is where he will remain. His family was never able to raise the $1 million bond originally set for his release and that bond has now been revoked by the judge. The other two Saudis accused in the case remain in custody in the Kingdom.
Despite the recent Colorado Supreme Court ruling that Al-Yousif’s original statement to police will be allowed at prosecution, Al-Yousif’s lawyer continues to try to find ways to exclude evidence from the trial.
This week, all parties were in Rivera’s courtroom as the defense presented a motion for sanctions against the prosecution. The defense team claims that they did not receive some evidence in a timely manner. The judge stated that she would rule on the issue at a later date. The defense team’s tactics are typical. They have now managed to delay the start of the trial by more than a year.
