With American presence and absence of the main convict, trial for 6 Yemenis accused of blowing up USS Cole warship started

The elementary criminal court held in Sanaa yesterday the first session of trial of persons accused in blowing up the American warship USS Cole, amid tough security measures and in the absence of the main person convicted and in the presence of American investigators representing the US justice department.

In the first session the attorney general read the accusation decision on five of the accused persons. They are Fahd Muhammad Ahmad al-Qasa, Jamal Badawi, Mamoun Ahmad Saeed, Ali Muhammad Saleh al-Mirfidi, Murad Saleh Salim al-Sorouri and they were officially accused.

The accusation centered on blowing up the American warship in Aden port in October 2000 when 17 American marines were killed and other 27 injured. The six men were also accused to being members in an " extreme network and forming an armed organization and carrying out various criminal acts." On the other hand, the Islamic liberation party " Hizb al-Tahris al-Islami" in Yemen said that the security authorities detained five of its members by the end of June.

It explained in a statement that the security authorities launched detention acts against its members in the governorates of Ab, Hedramout, Omran and the capital Sanaa, adding they were detained oppressively.

Worthy mentioning that the Islamic liberation party -- Yemen's province -- announced itself in November 2003 in its being a political party that seeks to establish " Islamic Kheilafa " in Sanaa but the Yemeni authorities refused to license it for political activities.