The man who threw grenades at the US Embassy in March has been convicted by a Sana’a court to 10 years in jail.
Sameer Yahia Awadh, 26, exploded the grenades on March 15. While reading the verdict, judge Mohsen Alwan said it was made clear that the defendant threw two grenades at the Embassy endangering lives of people and making harm to Yemen’s diplomatic relationships with other countries.
The act was described by the judge as a heinous crime that affects the security of the country.
During the hearings, Awadh denied all the charges and said he was arrested while passing the embassy compound, carrying a grenade for self-defence.
In the prosecution of investigative report, Awadh said he acted that way to protest against the Israeli atrocities being supported by the Americans. However, before court he denied all his confessions and said he was threatened to say so.
Relatives and neighbors of Awadh described the verdict as unjust. They said the convict suffered from psychological disturbances and the court should have explained that in favor of the convict.
The convict didn’t comment.
Other observers also believe the verdict was too heavy and has political dimensions.
The lawyer of the defendant appealed the verdict but no date has been fixed by the court to listen to the appeal hearings.

Disputes have begun to erupt and broaden lately within the Sheikh al-Wadie Salafi religious movement.
The schism has aroused concerns among many scholars of the movement. There are three major Salafia sheikhs in Yemen and heads of Salafia centers; Mohammed Abdulwahab al-Wasaabi, Mohammed al-Imam and Mohammed al-Suwaili, who issued on Thursday a statement confirming that the recent disputes among the Sunnis have stirred discords.
The statement has called on all students of Salafia centers, especially those at Dar al-Hadith centre in Dammaj and those at Dar al-Hadith centre in Mareb all the Sunnis being deeply engrossed in the question of dispute among scholars.
The statement said there must not be an enlargement and widening of the dispute and the scholars are doing whatever they can to solve it.
The split began in the wake of the acute dispute between chairman of Dar al-Hadith in Mareb Abu al-Hassan al-Maribi and his followers and Yahya al- who had been appointed by sheikh al-Wadie as his successor and head of Dar al-Hadith in Damaj.
The dispute has aroused dissatisfaction of Salafia Ulamma in Saudi Arabia where it is considered reference of Salafia current of al-Wadie and the major financier of it. The Egyptian-national Abu al-Hassan al-Marabi last week left for Saudia in response of an invitation there in order to discuss finding a solution to the standing crisis.
Dar al-Hadith in Mareb in the last few months came under a campaign of harassment by the authority under the policy it is pursuing for combating terror. As a result more than 70 of the centre’s students were arrested and some of them were deported outside the country under the pretext that their residency was illegal.
Abu al-Hassan al-Marabi had been detained for two days and was then released during the latest events in Mareb.
Some observers attribute the dispute to the moderate approach displayed by Abu al-Hassan al-Marabi and that he may be the personality qualified and capable of leading affairs of Salafia call after al-Wadie. Salafia call centers that are more than 80 in number are considered the most important ones where sciences of Salafia sects are taught.
They are attended by a large number of Yemeni, Arab and foreign students. But these centers are not officially authorized schools. Heads of these centers fear the possibility of having their centers closed especially after the U.S. said it has information about the presence of al-Qaeda elements who have studied religious studies at those centers in Yemen.

‘Who, us? Harboring terrorists? No way. We’re innocent.’
That’s the message from the tribes of Mareb, Al-Jawf and Shabwa who, in a formal statement, are also warning officials not to target their areas.
In press release issued by supreme council of Mareb, Al-Jawf tribes coalition, the tribes said any action against them will be denounced, and has nothing to do with war against terror.
Further, it will not be of good for Yemeni - US relationships, said the statement which warns the US in particular not to take military action which aims to settle political scores in the pretext of fighting against terrorism.
The US is now training Yemeni officials to combat terrorist elements within the country, elements believed to be within some of Yemen’s tribes.
But the joint-statement of the tribesmen of these three districts stresses that these areas condemn terrorism in all its shades. They call for working together to enhance security and stability in Yemen.
The statement notes that tribes have a huge need for better security and stability.
However, at the same time they are an important part of the country that cannot be put down or marginalized.
“We refuse all efforts exerted to tarnish our tribes or areas, and warn against making us a scapegoat for political or strategic reasons,” says the statement.
It also expresses the willingness of tribesmen to cooperate with authorities to track down on terrorists to show that such areas and people have nothing to do with allegations of harboring terrorists.
It denies charges that such areas harbor terrorist or extremist figures, stressing that there is no proofs to such allegations.
The statement also denies that the two prime suspects of al-Qaeda, Abu Ali Al-Harithy and Abu Asem Al-Ahdal, are being protected by tribesmen or exist in the three governorates.
It points out that these tribesmen have all agreed not to harbor any people involved in any terrorist acts, either in or outside Yemen.
Tribal sources have also said that they have seen an unidentified plane flying overhead last week, and they believe it is conducting survelience to gather information for international interests.
They say the flights have started in the Marib area at about 5 p.m. and concluded at daybreak.
They say there are rumors that some elements of al-Qaeda are hiding out in some areas of the governorate.

Yemen has received a new list of 16 suspected al-Qaeda members on its soil.
Reports say the Chief of the US Special Forces discussed during his visit to Yemen last week bilateral cooperation, training the Yemeni Special Forces on combating terrorism and hunting down terrorists.
The list is said to contain new names of suspected al-Qaeda elements.

Ultimatum ends, no new incidents
A group called Sympathizers with the al-Qaeda has announced responsibility for a number of explosions that took place near high ranking intelligence and political security officers’ houses to force the release of 173 suspects the government is accusing of having links with the al-Qaeda organization.
Most of the suspects are Yemenis who have fought in Afghanistan.
The group had early last month given a one-month ultimatum for the release of their people and had threatened of suicide bombs targeting influential personalities at he intelligence and PSO if their people were not released.
However, one week has gone after the said ultimatum with no incidents being reported.
Meanwhile more security personnel have been deployed to the cities and around the embassies in Sana’a.
Relatives of the 173 suspected al-Qaeda elements and those who have relations with Abu Ali al-Harethi or Abu Asem, the most wanted Yemeni al-Qaeda suspects, have also been watched.

More US trainers
General John Roza, spokesman of the US Chief of Staff said a team of 20 US trainers are about to start working in Yemen to train military to fight terrorism.
Security sources said they are tracking down 51 people suspected to have links to the Sympathizers with al-Qaeda group.
Abdul Rahman al-Misri, and thirteen people have been arrested in Mareb. They are accused of being members of the al-Qaeda organization and having an illegal residence.