AMMAN, 27 September 2005 — All 17 Islamists pleaded “not guilty” yesterday as the State Security Court (SSC) started their trial on charges of plotting attacks against Americans and intelligence personnel inside Jordan as well as carrying out suicide bombings in Iraq, judicial sources said. However, the defendants - 16 Jordanians and one Syrian - shouted “Jihad for the God’s sake is not a charge” as the tribunal opened the hearings, the sources added.
The indictment statement included plotting to attack Americans and intelligence officers inside Jordan and the recruitment of elements for carrying out suicide operations against US troops inside Iraq in cooperation with the Jordanian fugitive Abu Musab Zarqawi.
Meanwhile, the Jordanian government yesterday condemned the renewed Israeli shelling of the Gaza Strip, but said King Abdallah would go ahead with plans to visit Israel and the Palestinian territories “shortly” in a bid to halt violence and “bridge the gap” between the two sides. “Undoubtedly, Jordan condemns such operations,” Deputy Prime Minister Marwan Muasher said in a weekly media briefing. “The latest developments have cast doubts on the peace process and demonstrated the urgent need, perhaps more than before, for bridging the gap between the two sides,” he added.
