19 Sentenced to Death for 1996 Coup Attempt
An appeals court sentenced 19 people, including the emir’s cousin, to death for a failed 1996 coup.
Twenty other defendants were given life sentences and 28 were ordered freed, according to a court order. Death sentences have to be approved by the emir, Sheik Hamad ibn Khalifa al Thani.
The emir’s cousin, Sheik Hamad bin Jassim bin Hamad al Thani, had served as economy minister and as a police chief. He was thought to be the mastermind behind the coup attempt.
The current emir overthrew his father in a 1995 coup. Those convicted in the failed 1996 coup were believed to be supporters of his father.
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