SANAA, Yemen, May 3 (UPI) -- A Yemeni court specializing in terror cases sentenced al-Qaida's suspected number two man in Yemen to three years and one month in prison.
Mohammed Hamdi al-Ahdal, who has been held since 2003, shouted "Allah Akbar (God is Great) and victory to bin Laden and Zarqawi" when the sentence was pronounced Wednesday in the court amid tight security measures.
The Yemeni authorities, still shocked by the mass escape of 23 al-Qaida members from the central intelligence prison in Sanaa in February, deployed machinegun-equipped armored vehicles around the court building and closed all roads leading to the court.
Al-Ahdal, code-named Abu Assem Makki, was tried on several charges, including belonging to an armed group planning to attack foreign interests; jeopardizing Yemen's security and stability; and financing criminal and terrorist activities with money he received from al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
Legal experts believe the light sentence handed down was due to the lack of evidence on certain charges.
Al-Ahdal was also charged with causing the death of 19 security men and injuring 29 others during a manhunt between 2000 and 2003.
The public prosecution said al-Ahdal "was involved in financing the attack on the French tanker the Limburgh," and that he received $50,000 from bin Laden which he used to buy arms and explosives needed for attacks. The defendant denied the charges and refused to appoint a defense lawyer.
Al-Ahdal is believed to be the al-Qaida's number two man in Yemen after Sinan al-Harithy, who was killed in a U.S. drone attack in eastern Yemen in 2002.
In another development, Egypt has asked Yemen to hand over "terrorist Salafi clerics" who had been granted Yemeni citizenship for interrogation in connection with the Dahab bombings in Sinai.
Yemeni weekly al-Wasat said Wednesday the request was made by Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman during a meeting with President Ali Abdullah Saleh last week.
