Convicted terrorist to face new trial in Jordan

Jordanian officials link Hijazi to accused Saudi exile Osama bin Laden, above

U.S. officials deny link to Cole bombing

In this story: Death sentences Hijazi linked to bin Laden RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

WASHINGTON -- Jordanian officials said Monday they will retry a U.S. citizen convicted and sentenced to death in connection with a terrorist plot against Israeli and American tourists in Jordan during New Year's celebrations.

However, a senior U.S. official denied media reports that the suspect, Raed Hijazi, has been linked to the October 12 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen. The blast killed 17 sailors and injured 39.

The official told CNN that he was "not aware of any link" between Hijazi and the Cole bombing. He also said it was "very doubtful" that there was a connection.

Hijazi is expected to be tried in Amman beginning in January. Syrian officials turned Hijazi over to Jordanian authorities on Sunday. He had been convicted in absentia earlier this year by a military tribunal.

Death sentences

A Jordanian military court in September sentenced six men -- including Hijazi and three other fugitives -- to death after convicting them of conspiracy to carry out the attacks. The trial began in April. Several suspects had been tried last year.

Under Jordanian law, Hijazi is entitled to a new trial because verdicts issued against an accused in absentia are annulled once the fugitive is apprehended.

A three-man tribunal sentenced 16 other suspects to prison terms ranging from 7 1/2 years to life, and six suspects were acquitted.

The suspects had been charged with 12 crimes -- including conspiracy to carry out the terrorist attacks, manufacturing explosives to use in bombing attacks, and of having an affiliation with al-Qaeda, an extremist group allegedly led by Saudi militant Osama bin Laden.

The targeted sites included Mount Nebo, where tradition holds that Moses saw the Promised Land, and a Christian settlement along the Jordan River said to be the site where Saint John the Baptist baptized Jesus.

The suspects denied any wrongdoing, and denied having links to bin Laden. They said they gave their confessions under duress.

After the trial in September, presiding court judge Col. Tayel Raqad said the tribunal did not have sufficient evidence to implicate the six suspects who were acquitted.

Hijazi linked to bin Laden

Hijazi is a Jordanian of Palestinian origin. Jordanian officials have linked Hijazi to bin Laden, a Saudi whom U.S. officials say masterminded the fatal bombings of two U.S. embassies.

"He's a UBL guy," a senior Jordanian official said of Hijazi, referring to the link with bin Laden.

Bin Laden, who has taken refuge in Afghanistan, is on the U.S. wanted list for the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. More than 200 people died in those blasts.

Bin Laden has declared a holy war against the United States to protest the presence of U.S. soldiers in his homeland.

CNN State Department Correspondent Andrea Koppel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Prosecution could get USS Cole bombing case this weekend
December 1, 2000

U.S. State Department
U.S. Navy
ArabNet -- Jordan

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