Yemen halves jail term of US-sought Qaeda suspect

Yemen halves jail term of US-sought Qaeda suspect
08 Nov 2008 11:03:35 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Mohammed Sudam

SANAA, Nov 8 (Reuters) - A Yemeni court has
halved the prison sentence of an al Qaeda suspect
on the U.S. list of most wanted militants after
he won an appeal, judicial sources said on Saturday.

Jaber Elbaneh, a Yemeni-American accused by the
United States of being a major figure in the fatal
bombing of the U.S. warship Cole in 2000, was one
of 36 militants who contested their sentences in
connection with attacks on oil facilities in
Yemen's Hadramout province.

The court reduced Elbaneh's sentence to 5 from 10
years, with new sentences for the rest of the group
ranging between 3 and 15 years, compared with 5
to 15-year jail terms handed down previously.

Elbaneh is on the list of "Most Wanted Terrorists"
in the United States, where he is charged with
providing material support to al Qaeda, U.S.
diplomatic sources say.

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