Sana'a, Yemen - Yemen's state security court on Tuesday sentenced three suspected members of an al-Qaeda cell to seven years in jail and a fourth to two years in prison for planning attacks against Westerners in the capital Sana'a. Presiding Judge Muhssien Alwan said the court found the four men guilty of forming an armed group and plotting attacks on hotels in frequented by Westerners the capital Sana'a.
Prosecutors said the men had planned attacks to avenge the killing of leading member of al-Qaeda in Yemen, Hamza al-Quaiti, who was shot dead in a police raid in south-eastern province of Hadhramout last August.
Essam Muhammed Ghailan 24, Munir Hamoud al-Bawni, 23, Muhammed Muhssien al-Saadi, 24, received a seven-year jail term each. Al-Saadi's younger brother Osama, 15, was sentenced to two years in prison for resisting police arrest.
The defendants told the court they would not appeal the verdict, saying the trial was illegal.
