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Jordanian Court Sentences Would-Be Female Suicide Bomber to Death
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?r=279&ctl=140BFA3:A6F02AD83191E160293B50FCD8451E809574F7DCC14957C0 Sajida al-Rishawi
was the only one present in court when sentences were announced; six
others sentenced in absentia A military court in Jordan has sentenced
an Iraqi woman to death for trying to carry out a suicide bombing in
an Amman hotel last November. Six other people were sentenced in
absentia.







Iraqi Sajida Al-Rishawi confesses on Jordanian TV on Sunday Nov. 13,
2005 about her failed bid to set off an explosives belt inside one of
the three Amman hotels targeted by al-Qaida (File photo)Under tight
security, a three-judge panel sentenced Sajida Al-Rishawi and six
others to death by hanging. They were convicted of conspiracy to carry
out a terrorist attack causing death and destruction, and of illegal
possession of explosives.

Al-Rishawi is the only one of the defendants currently in custody. The
others, including another Iraqi woman, were tried and convicted in
absentia. Wearing a black headscarf and blue prison dress, Al-Rishawi
showed little emotion as the judgment was read out.

Her defense lawyer, Hussein Al-Masri, said his client was not
surprised by the death sentence.

"The verdict can be appealed," he said. He then expresses his
confidence that the appeals court will study the case carefully and
make a fair decision.

The simultaneous suicide bombings killed some 60 people in three Amman
hotels last year. All of the bombers were Iraqi. Al-Rishawi's husband
blew himself up at a wedding party in the Radisson hotel.

A few days later, after her arrest, Sajida Al-Rishawi's videotaped
confession was broadcast on national television. In the video, she
said her explosive belt had failed to detonate. She later retracted
that confession. Her lawyer told the court that it was extracted under
duress, and she pleaded not guilty to the charges against her.

The group Al-Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibility for the bombings.
The group's Jordanian-born leader, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, was
originally charged as well, but the case against him was dropped after
he was killed by a U.S. air strike in Iraq in June.


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