Posted on 09/13/2003 4:46:37 AM PDT by knighthawk
A military court began the trial Friday of 31 people accused, among other things, of forming a terrorist network, carrying out operations targeting restaurants with American names and planning an attempt to assassinate US Ambassador Vincent Battle.
The defendants are also accused of trying to attack the US Embassy and blow up a Russian airliner carrying a Russian diplomat at Beirut International Airport in protest against the war in Chechnya.
The court, which was presided over by Brigadier Maher Safieddine, questioned six of the accused who, the indictment charged, had links with the Al-Qaeda organization.
The six were brought into court under guard in the presence of their defense lawyers and a representative of the military prosecution, magistrate Ahmad Oweidat.
There was also a large number of journalists, including some from Australia following the legal proceedings against two Lebanese-Australian brothers, Bilal and Maher Ghazal. Australian authorities announced Sunday they had turned down a request to hand over Bilal to the local judiciary, but State Prosecutor Adnan Addoum denied making the request.
The first of the accused questioned by the court was an army recruit, Loqman Kaaki, who denied charges of involvement in blowing up restaurants or planning to attack American interests.
He admitted accompanying Khaled Mohammed Ali from Tripoli to Beirut in a Renault equipped with explosives and butane gas canisters to be blown up in front of the McDonalds restaurant in Dora, an eastern suburb of Beirut, on April 5. But he indicated he was unaware the car contained explosives.
Kaaki also admitted to throwing a bag, the contents of which he was also unaware of, into a toilet in the restaurant. The bag blew up soon afterward, wounding four people.
Another army recruit, Walid Omariya, denied having discussed striking at American interests in revenge for the blood of Muslims suffering from persecution with anyone. He said Ali asked him to drive the Renault, which he did, but did not tell him the car contained explosives.
The third man accused, Mohammed Taha, said he had met Ali in a mosque and they talked about American injustice. He admitted responsibility for the two blasts that targeted two McDonalds restaurants in Jounieh and Tripoli in revenge for American injustice toward Muslims and the people of the world.
The fourth man accused, Wissam Moghrabi, said that he, together with Kaaki, was active in support of a boycott of American goods. However, he denied involvement in an attempt to assassinate the US ambassador, which he previously admitted to in a statement.
Mahmoud Hammoud, the fifth man accused, said he knew Ali, as he was his neighbor, but added he learned of the Kentucky Fried Chicken blast in Tripoli from the media. He said confessions attributed to him were made under duress.
The sixth man accused, Moeeneddine Nasser, denied any connection with the blasts. Nasser said he met Ali when he carried out construction work at his residence, but had no contact with him after that.
After questioning, the judge adjourned the trial until next Friday when more defendants will be brought to court.
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