CASABLANCA, 27 December 2002 — A Moroccan court yesterday adjourned until Jan. 17 the trial of three Saudis and seven Moroccans accused of being members of Al-Qaeda and of plotting to attack US and NATO warships. The judge put off the hearing after the leading defense counsel, Khalil Idrissi, was taken ill as he concluded an address to the court, an AFP correspondent reported. Saudi ambassador, who was one of the witnesses did not turn up because, according to a Saudi Embassy official attending the trial he “did not receive an official notice from authorities”. “Instead of defining the crime, looking for evidence and then finding the alleged perpetrators, our security services started by abducting the accused, took them to a secret detention center and then tailored indictment, with fictional crimes, which they were forced to sign after almost a month of physical and psychological abuse,” Idrissi said. (Agencies)
