DENVER, Colorado, 19 October 2003 — At the midpoint in the murder trial of Saudi student Naif I. Al-Yousif, the jury adjourned on Friday for the weekend. The case continues to proceed smoothly with prosecutor, Mike Pellow, concluding his presentation on Thursday and attorney Gary Lozow beginning the defense.
Al-Yousif is on trial in Denver District Court for murder, robbery and conspiracy charges, all related to the January 2001 murder in Denver of Saudi Abdulaziz Al-Koohaji.
According to Lynn Kimbrough, communications director, Denver District Attorney's Office, there were several key elements in the prosecution's case. Testifying for the prosecution were the detective who handled the initial investigation into Al-Koohaji's disappearance, the homicide detective responsible for investigating the case and officers who searched the landfill for Al-Koohaji's body. Without a doubt, one of the most incriminating pieces of evidence put forward was the videotape of Al-Yousif's initial statement to police.
In the narrative section of the Statement of Probable Cause submitted to the Denver County Court and obtained by Arab News at the time of the defendant's arrest, Al-Yousif said that he and two other Saudis, Mishal Al-Swaidi and Tariq Al-Dossary were part of a conspiracy to "rob and kill" Al-Koohaji. He stated that he transported Al-Koohaji to the murder scene, was present at the murder, then helped to dispose of the body. The next day he also assisted in selling Al-Koohaji's car and fraudulently taking funds from the deceased's bank account.
Lozow previously tried to get Al-Yousif's initial statement to police disallowed at trial, but a Colorado Supreme Court found that Al-Yousif, who was a US college student at the time of the murder, did have a good command of the English language. In fact several witnesses testified before the court to the high level of Al-Yousif's English language ability.
And now during this trial, Lozow continues to try and chip away at the impact of that statement. On Friday he called one of Al-Yousif's community college professors to the stand. The witness was identified as a qualified expert on English as a Second Language instruction. He testified on his perception of how poorly Al-Yousif grasped the vocabulary used in the police interview and the meaning of the interview. Al-Yousif's brother also testified on his behalf. His father has been present daily at the trial.
It is unknown if Al-Yousif will take the stand in his own defense. He has the right to do so, but he is under no obligation to make such a move.
