Jordan convicts eight Qaeda-linked Islamists for anti-US plots

[ECH1969]

Jordanian military court on Wednesday sentenced eight Jordanian Al-Qaeda-linked Islamists to jail terms of between 10 and two years for plotting attacks on US and Jewish targets.

Convicted ringleader Ahmad Shbaneh was handed a 10-year jail term, although the prosecutor had demanded the death penalty against him and his co-defendants, three of whom are on the run.

Fugitives Ahmad Yassin and Haitham al-Gazzaz were also given a 10-year term, while the other defendants were sentenced to between two and seven-and-a-half years in prison.

The court said it opted for lighter sentences to give the suspects a chance to improve themselves, although the charge of conspiracy to carry out attacks carried the death sentence.

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1059095