A three-member military court in Jordan sentenced a...

A three-member military court in Jordan sentenced a Jordanian-American man to death after convicting him on charges that he planned to bomb tourist sites during millennium celebrations.
Raed Hijazi was convicted on nine counts, including possession of arms and explosives and plotting to bomb Jordanian tourist sites. At the same time, the court acquitted the 33-year old of belonging to a terrorist organization in Jordan.
Hijazi had been suspected of being a member of al Qaeda, the global terrorist network headed by Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden.
Arab lawyers said the trial, the first al Qaeda-related conviction in the Arab world since Sept. 11, was a key test for potential pitfalls in future terrorism trials, including whether confessions allegedly obtained through torture or abuse would be admissible in court.
Prosecutors said Hijazi, a former Boston cab driver and security guard, admitted to plotting a New Year's 2000 truck-bomb attack on an Amman hotel frequented by American and Israeli tourists as well as attacks on two Christian holy sites. Hijazi said he had made the confession under duress. Jordanian officials deny that Hijazi was tortured.
During his trial, which began in May 2001, Hijazi repeatedly challenged Judge Col. Tayel Raqad to give him the death penalty. He boasted, according to people who attended the hearings, that there wouldn't be enough body bags in Jordan for those who would die as a result of his conviction.
Hijazi, according to people present at his sentencing, greeted his death sentence with the words "Allahu Akbar," God is great. He charged that the verdict was against the people and noted that even the Israeli legal system doesn't have a death penalty. Hijazi further alleged that Jordan was seeking to ingratiate itself with the U.S.
Hijazi had pleaded innocent to the charges, saying that terrorist attacks contradict the teachings of Islam. He is expected to appeal.