SANAA: A Yemeni court ordered radical Yemeni-American cleric Anwar al-Awlaqi on Saturday to appear before it on charges of links to Al-Qaeda and incitement to kill foreigners, or face arrest by any means.
Judge Mohsen Alwan ordered the representative of the public prosecutor to inform the concerned authorities “to forcibly arrest … Anwar al-Awlaqi and … Othman al-Awlaqi.”
US-born Awlaqi and Othman al-Awlaqi, a relative, were both charged in absentia by a Sanaa court on Tuesday with “incitement to kill foreigners and members of security services.”
The charges arose during the trial of Yemeni Hisham Mohammed Assem, who was in court to face charges of killing French energy contractor Jacques Spagnolo near Sanaa last month.
Prosecutors told the court, which specialises in terrorism cases, that Awlaqi had corresponded with Assem for months, encouraging him to kill foreigners.
All three men are accused of “forming an armed gang to carry out criminal acts and to target foreigners and security forces on behalf of Al-Qaeda.”
Assem, who denied the charges, said he was tortured and asked for a lawyer. The trial was adjourned until Tuesday.
Hours after the hearing, suspected Al-Qaeda militants attacked an oil pipeline run by the Korea National Oil Corp in the southeastern Shabwa province controlled by Awlaqi’s tribe.
The attack came just days after intercepted parcel bombs destined for Chicago synagogues were traced to Yemen, placing it in the spotlight.
The parcels containing the explosive PETN hidden in ink toner cartridges were found to have been freighted from Sanaa on commercial airlines.
