Yemeni court warns defendant lawyers for the British

The Yemeni court which is in charge of the question of the eight Britons who are being tried on terrorism charges on Monday warned the lawyers who defend the suspects of the need to attend the session and not to boycott the trial, otherwise alternative lawyers will be appointed in their place.

AFP quoted judge Jamal Muhammad Omar, the chairman of al-Meena court in Aden as saying that the court will give a last chance to the boycotting lawyers to attend the next session on Wednesday, stressing that the court will not permit anyone to obstruct its decisions or procedures.

The defense lawyers stopped attending the court's sessions on March 24 and set a precondition to returning that they can meet with their clients freely and individually.

In London, the British Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Prime Minister Tony Blair asked the Yemeni authorities to permit medical checks of the eight imprisoned Britons by an independent doctor.