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Yemen Takes First Legal Action Against Radical Cleric

   VOA News 02 November 2010
   A  Yemeni policeman takes position outside the state security court in
   San'a,  Yemen,  as  that  nation's  government  puts a US-born radical
   cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, on trial in absentia, 02 Nov 2010

Photo: AP

   Prosecutors  in  Yemen  have charged a radical U.S.-born cleric who is
   allegedly  linked  to  a failed airplane bombing with plotting to kill
   foreigners and being a member of al-Qaida.
   Prosecutors  on  Tuesday announced the charges against Anwar al-Awlaki
   in  a  Sana'a  courtroom, where he is being tried in absentia.  It is
   the  country's  first  formal  legal  action  against  Awlaki,  who is
   believed to be hiding in Yemen.
   U.S.  officials  believe  Awlaki  had  a  role in a failed attack on a
   U.S.-bound  airliner  last December, as well as a November 2009 attack
   that killed 13 people at a U.S. army base in Fort Hood, Texas.
   Prosecutors  announced  the  charges  against  Awlaki as they opened a
   trial  against another man, Hisham Assem.  Officials accused Assem of
   killing  a  Frenchman during an attack on an oil firm last month.  He
   denied  the  charges and said he was beaten and forced to give a false
   confession.
   Meanwhile, Yemeni security officials say a manhunt is under way for an
   al-Qaida-linked   bomb-maker   wanted  for  trying  to  put  bombs  on
   U.S.-bound cargo planes.
   Security  officials  say  investigators were sent to Yemen's Marib and
   Shabwa  provinces  Tuesday  in  an  effort to track down Ibrahim Hasan
   al-Asiri.
   The  U.S.  says  the  Saudi-born  al-Asiri belongs to al-Qaida's Yemen
   branch,  al-Qaida  in  the  Arabian  Peninsula.  Officials say he was
   responsible  for  the  underwear bomb used in the same failed airliner
   attack in which Awlaki allegedly had a role.
   Also,  Yemeni security officials say suspected al-Qaida militants have
   bombed  part  of  a  pipeline  in  the  southern  province of Shabwa.Â
   Officials  say  a  South  Korean firm operates the pipeline, which was
   attacked Tuesday.
   Yemen   has   been   under   increased   pressure  to  crack  down  on
   al-Qaida-linked  terrorists  following  last  week's  attempt to place
   bombs on cargo planes bound for the United States.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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