A Yemen court sentenced Ali al-Jarallah's, a Muslim...

A Yemen court sentenced Ali al-Jarallah's, a Muslim extremist, to death. The sentence followed his conviction for the 28 December, 2002, death of Yemeni Socialist Party deputy secretary-general Jarallah Omar during an Islamic political conference. Al-Jarallah was also convicted of coordinating the murders, two days later, of the three Americans at a Southern Baptist missionary hospital in Jibla, southern Yemen, and of forming a terror cell to kill local officials and foreigners. The court also sentenced six convicted accomplices of al-Jarallah in the Omar murder to three to 10 years in prison. Seven other alleged militants were acquitted. Despite the decision for capital punishment, Omar's colleagues and his lawyer criticized the case's resolution, claiming judicial authorities failed to punish other Yemenis believed to have supported al-Jarallah. "There are others involved who were not included in this verdict, such as the entities that financed him," lawyer Mohammed al-Mekhlafy said. "Al-Jarallah was not working on his own. He is part of a financed organization ... and this verdict does not suffice in combatting terrorism in Yemen."