Mokhtar Belmokhtar, alias Abou El Abbas...

Mokhtar Belmokhtar, alias Abou El Abbas, ex emir of the Sahara-Sahel region, of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Fighting (GSPC), was sentenced to death in absentia by the tribunal in Ghardaia, north of the Algerian Sahara. According to the court, Belmokhtar, 35, was responsible for the murder of 13 Algerian customs officers, including Customs Regional Director Khebouza Abdelkrim, in February 2006. The Algerian Press announced the terrorist was found in northern Mali, waiting to be granted an amnesty scheduled in the Charter for national reconciliation. By October 2007, Belmokhtar had already asked the Algerian authorities for an amnesty for his armed company in exchange for his surrender. His group, which had observed a cease fire for some months, had serious losses and doesn’t have more than 30 members.