Hisham Mohammed Assem, a 22 year-old Yemeni, opened fire in October at a compound of am Austrian-owned oil and gas firm, killing the Frenchman.
On the same day, suspected Al-Qaeda militants fired a rocket at a senior British diplomat’s car carrying five staff members, who all survived with no major injuries.
Awlaki, of Yemeni descent and wanted dead or alive by the United Sates, is thought to be hiding in southern Yemen. His relative Othman Al-Awlaki, also in hiding and believed to have ties to Al-Qaeda, was also sentenced in absentia to eight years in jail on charges of aiding Assem.
“The evidence presented by the prosecution confirms the relationship between Anwar and Othman Al-Awlaki and the killer of the Frenchman, as an agreement among them to target foreigners,” the judge said during the sentencing on Monday.
The defense lawyer representing the three men said he will appeal the sentences.
At the time of the attacks, Yemeni officials said the events bore the hallmarks of Al-Qaeda.
Both the charges and sentencing for Assem and the two Awlakis made no mention of the global militant group, but linked the three to unspecified “terrorist organizations.”
Yemen may have been reluctant for domestic reasons to directly link Awlaki, respected in many circles in the country, to Al-Qaeda.
