JORDAN. ZARQAWI LAWYERS ACCUSE JORDAN COURT OF TRIAL BY TELEVISION

defense lawyers for suspects accused of plotting a chemical bomb attack in Jordan on the orders of Al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi accused the court of conducting a trial by television. Defense lawyer Sameeh Khreiss charged that his clients gave testimony under duress and criticised the authorities for airing the confessions of alleged ringleader Azmi Jayussi and several suspects on state television in April 2004.
"The case was presented in a dramatic way to the Jordanian people... which led to a public verdict even before the court's verdict," Khreiss said.
Khreiss urged the state security court to acquit his clients, arguing that the prosecution's evidence was "null and void" because of irregularity concerning their arrest and interrogation. Zarqawi, who was released from jail in 1999 as part of a general royal pardon by King Abdullah II, also claimed triple suicide bomb attacks on luxury Amman hotels on November 9 that killed 60 people.