Jordan Convicts 10 in 2002 Slaying of American Envoy

Eight militants believed to be linked to Al Qaeda were convicted and sentenced to death Tuesday in the 2002 slaying of a U.S. diplomat, but six of them remain at large.

The killing of Laurence Foley stunned Jordan, a close U.S. ally and peace partner with Israel. A subsequent police crackdown exposed a terrorist cell that had allegedly planned Foley’s assassination as the first of several attacks inside the Arab country.

The U.S. Embassy issued a statement thanking Jordanian authorities for “bringing those responsible for Larry’s murder to justice” after a 10-month trial.

The embassy vowed to “remain resolved to continue his work to improve the lives of ordinary Jordanians and to bring the people of our two nations closer together.”

Foley, a 60-year-old administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development, was gunned down outside his home in Amman, the capital, on Oct. 28, 2002.

Military court President Col. Fawaz Buqour sentenced Abu Musab Zarqawi and seven others to death for conspiring to murder Foley.

Zarqawi, who is thought to be a close associate of Osama bin Laden, and five others remain at large.

The Libyan man accused of pulling the trigger, Salem Saad Suweid, and the driver of the getaway car, Jordanian Yasser Freihat, were in court.

So were three Jordanians charged with conspiracy. Mohammed Amin abu Saeed and Mohammed Demes received terms of six and 15 years, respectively, but Numan Hirsh was acquitted after the court found there was no evidence implicating him.

Standing in the dock wearing dark-blue prison uniforms, the five men shouted, “Allahu akbar!” or “God is great,” and “This verdict is unfair!” as Buqour read it. A military helicopter hovered above the courthouse.

The men had pleaded innocent and told the court that their confessions were extracted under duress. Sameeh Khreis, lawyer for the defendants, said the four men in custody who were sentenced would appeal.