Releasing Britains, Yemen brought 11 convicted persons of terrorism for trial

The Yemeni authorities brought 6 persons convicted over the case of the American warship USS Cole and five in the French oil tanker before the attorney for trial.

A government spokesman in Sanaa said that are among 78 detainees in a "terrorist" case whose cases were brought before the attorney general to be tried.

Worthy mentioning that some 16 sailors were killed and other 39 wounded in the attack against USS Cole while it had anchored at the port of Aden on November 12, 2000 while one person was killed and another wounded in the attack against the French oil tanker near the coasts of the Yemeni al-Mukalla city on October 6th, 2002.

On the other hand, a source in the British embassy in Sanaa said that two among the remaining 8 British who were convicted in the city of Aden in 1999 were released after they had served two thirds of their imprisonment penalty.

One diplomat in the embassy confirmed the relase of the two Britons Mohsin Geilan and Malik Nasser Harhara who were spending their 7 year imprisonment for each according to judicial sentences against them.

The two men were sentenced to this penalty with other 8 persons accused of being linked to one Islamic group responsible for kidnapping 16 western citizens in December 1998. Four of the hostages were killed during a fail operation to free them.

Worthy mentioning that the Yemeni authorities released three convicted Britons involved in this case after one month of the verdict against them because they had spent their penalty in reserve imprisonment. A fourth British was released in 2002 and other two in 2003.