Jordan Begins Trial of 28 in Alleged Plot on Tourists

A trial opened Thursday for 28 men charged with plotting to attack U.S. and Israeli tourists in Jordan over the New Year’s holiday.

The men, who are allegedly linked to accused terrorist Osama bin Laden, “plotted to destabilize public security,” military prosecutor-general Lt. Col. Mahmoud Obeidat told the State Security Court. Reading the indictment, Obeidat said the defendants possessed and manufactured explosives to be used against U.S. and Israeli targets during New Year’s celebrations.

Fifteen defendants--13 Jordanians of Palestinian descent, an Iraqi and an Algerian--have been in custody since December. The others are believed to be outside Jordan and are being tried in absentia.

If convicted, the defendants could face the death penalty.

Obeidat told the three judges that the suspects were “affiliated with an outlawed group” involved in a “conspiracy to carry out terrorist attacks” in Jordan.

He did not name the group in court. Earlier, though, he told reporters that the suspects were linked to Bin Laden. The exiled Saudi millionaire is wanted for the 1998 bombing of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people.

An appointed defense lawyer, Jawad Yunis, said after the hearing, “The defendants have nothing to do with Osama bin Laden. The government is sending a message to the Americans and the Israelis that it is protecting them to get help from the world’s No. 1 power.”