Yemen Times: "Yemenis tried on charges of spying for Israel"

The Middle East is a silly place. Get a load of the e-mail supposedly sent to Olmert and the reply:

The trial of three Yemenis accused of spying for Israel and disseminating false statements and news under the name of the "Islamic Jihad Organization" continues next Saturday.

The trial, which is unprecedented in Yemeni political history, started last Saturday at the Primary Penal Court in Sana'a.

Basim Abdullah Al-Haidari, 25, 'Imad Ali Al-Reimi, 23, and 'Ali 'Abdullah Al-Mahfal, 24, are accused of contacting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

The prosecution accused Al-Haidari, also known as Abu Al-Ghaith, of being in "illegitimate" contact with Israel through an email which he sent to Ehud Olmert. The message reads, "We are the Jihad Organization and you are Jews but you are honest and we are ready for anything." The accusation said that the Israeli response included the following: "We are ready to support you to be a stumbling block to the Middle East and we will support you as agents." According to the accusation, this act harms the political and diplomatic position of Yemen which is one of the most anti-Israel countries.

The prosecution accused them of "disseminating and publishing false news under the name of the Islamic Jihad Organization”. It accused them of spreading false information, notably via embassy websites as well as local, Arab and foreign satellite channels.

It said that the organization announced it had carried out the attacks on the security buildings in Hadramout and on the US embassy, and that it targets the government and foreign interests.

The accusation said that the three citizens sent information threatening to target governmental sites as well as Arab and foreign embassies. They also demanded USD 5 million in return in exchange for canceling the explosions planned to interrupt a concert given by Egyptian artist Ehab Toufiq in Sana’a.

The prosecution considered that the data "published by the accused in full knowledge that it is false, aimed to destabilize public security, provoke horror among people and harm public interest." The accused denied all the accusations but the court adjourned the case to "complete the procedures of the trial". The Islamic Jihad Organization had announced its responsibility for targeting a security building in Sayoun, Shabwa governorate, last July with a car bomb. It also announced its responsibility for the attack on the US embassy in Sana'a last September, which left 19 Yemenis dead.

These are the two attacks which the Al-Qaeda organization later announced its responsibility for.

Security apparatuses arrested the three citizens last September within a group of six after the Ministry of Interior published releases of the Islamic Jihad Organization in Yemen. Early last October, President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced that the group is linked with Israeli intelligence, allegations which the Israeli foreign affairs ministry has denied and described it as "ridiculous".

In parallel with this case, the Primary Penal Court specialized in affairs of terrorism next Monday will hold a hearing to consider the case of four Yemeni citizens accused of affiliation with Al-Qaeda, preparation for an attack and possession of explosives.

Last Monday, the court reviewed the arms seized by the police and which the latter confessed to possess. Among the items seized were pistols, automatic machineguns, a rifle, RBG missiles, ammunitions, a computer and counterfeit ID cards.

The prosecution said that the accused aimed to attack tourists and government constructions including security buildings. The state-run Saba News Agency reported that one of the three accused confessed that he was "entrusted to register all hotels in the old city of Sana'a and Dar Al-Hajar where tourists exist in order to carry out a suicide attack with an explosive belt so as to target many foreigner as possible".

The agency pointed out that another one confessed that he is entrusted to "attract youth to the cell and prepare them to carry out terrorist operations by training them in camps belonging to the cell in Wadi Jubarah in Sa'ada".

Yemen last year witnessed a series of attacks that targeted security offices, tourist gatherings and oil constructions.

Al-Qaeda announced its responsibility for carrying out most of them.