Former Yemeni minister likely involvement in Cole warship case

An official document was disclosed in Yemen shows the involvement of a former government officials in the blowing up the US "USS Cole" warship in October 2000.

The lawyer of one of the accused of blowing up the American warship on Wednesday showed an official document that shows that the main persons convicted in this case, made use of an official document given by the said official.

Lawyer Abdul Aziz al-Samawi gave to the court a "pass" document, given by the Yemeni minister of the interior -- at that time Lt. Gen. Hussein Muhammad Arab -- to the first accused person, Abdul Rahim al-Nashirir, in the name of Omar al-Harazzi, one of the fake names al-Nashiri was using.

The document said that "Sheikh Muhammad Omar al-Harazzi is permitted to pass all military inspection points with three escorts without inspection, and the sides concerned have to facilitate his mission. This is valid as from the beginning of April 2000 until the end of year 2000.

After he was arrested in the United Arab Emirates UAE in October 2002, al-Nashiri was handed over to the USA where is being detained.

By the end of the trial session in the presence of the five accused persons, judge Najib Qadiri set a date for the coming session by the beginning of September to continue sessions on the explosion which resulted in killing 17 American soldiers in Aden port to the south of Yemen.