19 Sentenced to Death for Being Involved in Qatar's 1996 Coup AttemptNineteen people were sentenced to death on Monday by Qatar's Court of Appeal on alleged charges of being involved in a 1996 coup attempt aimed to topple the rule of incumbent Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani.Among those who received the death penalty is the coup's mastermind and the Emir's cousin Sheikh Hamad Bin Jasim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, Qatar News Agency monitored here reported Monday. The report said the Emir has approved the death sentences against the 19. Meanwhile, 20 other suspects were sentenced to life imprisonment and 29 were acquitted. Monday's sentence was a correction to a court ruling made by Qatar's Supreme Criminal Court last February, which sentenced to life imprisonment 33 suspects and acquitted the rest 85. A total of 118 suspects were arrested following the foiled coup bid on February 13, 1996. Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassem, also former police chief and minister of finance, economy and trade, was captured by Qatar's secret agents in an unnamed Arab country in July 1999. |
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