A Sanaa court will issue a ruling Saturday in the case of a 25-year-old Yemeni grocer charged with lobbing two grenades at the United States embassy in the Yemen capital on March 15th.
Prosecutor Said al-Samet demanded Monday the "maximum penalty" for Samir Yahia Awadh during a fourth and final hearing into the case, which opened on May 7th, according to AFP.
At the opening of the trial, he had demanded "the punishment stipulated by the law," that is 5 to 10 years' imprisonment.
Samet told the Sanaa court two days ago that Awadh admitted "having planned the operation two months earlier," and having acted alone "in solidarity with the Palestinians."
But Awadh, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of "throwing two grenades against the wall of the embassy, endangering the lives of innocents and damaging the foreign relations of Yemen," told the court the confession had been extracted under duress.
Defense lawyer Fadl al-Riashi Monday presented a medical report on his client's psychological condition, telling the court Awadh was mentally disturbed and suffered from schizophrenia.
The defendant pleaded from the dock for clemency, telling the court that he provided for "a big family."
No one was wounded during the attack. (Albawaba.com)
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