MIDDLE EAST

16 CHARGED WITH PLOTTING ATTACKS ON U.S., ISRAELI EMBASSIES

Jordan charged 16 Islamic insurgents yesterday with plotting terror attacks, including strikes against the American and Israeli embassies in Amman.

The suspected cell members were detained between August and September, but details about the allegations against them surfaced only after they were charged at the office of Jordan’s military prosecutor. One of the suspects remains at large.

The men, led by 50-year-old Jordanian Abed al-Tahawi, were charged with conspiring to carry out the attacks and illegal possession of automatic weapons, a court official said.

A military prosecutor accused the defendants of plotting attacks against the American and Israeli embassies in Amman and a hotel housing Israeli tourists in Irbid, some 55 miles north of the capital.

They also allegedly planned attacks on the home of the director of the Jerash Festival of Culture and Arts and on Americans performing in festival, some 20 miles north of Amman.

No details were available on how the men were arrested or how the plots were foiled. According to the charge sheet, Mr. al-Tahawi had recruited his accomplices while preaching in mosques in Irbid before instructing them to carry out the planned attacks.

– Associated Press

CENTRAL ASIA

AFGHANISTAN WEIGHING AMNESTY FOR WEALTHY TRAFFICKERS

Afghan leaders are considering offering amnesty to drug smugglers who get out of the country’s booming narcotics industry and invest their profits in national reconstruction, senior officials said.

The proposed amnesty could blunt an American-sponsored crackdown on traffickers and opium poppy farmers and raises tough ethical questions for a government also seeking reconciliation with followers of the ousted Taliban regime.

Under pressure from America and Europe, President Karzai has declared a “holy war” against the narcotics trade, which has grown rapidly since the Taliban fell three years ago after an American-led invasion. Mr. Karzai has said it is his top priority during the five-year term he won in landmark September elections.

Yesterday, Mr. Karzai’s office would not say whether an amnesty was being discussed. But two senior officials said that debate on the proposal had begun.

Mr. Karzai was “considering the issue,” said his rural development minister, Haneef Atmar. “He finds it extremely difficult to bring any kind of amnesty for these people. But as a very responsible leader, he is always looking at all policy options.” Mr. Atmar, whose ministry will handle a chunk of the foreign money flowing into anti-drug programs, said the government would have to discuss the ethical issues together with its key foreign backers – America, Britain, and the European Union – as well as with the Afghan people.

– Associated Press

PERSIAN GULF

IRAN CALLS FOR PROBE OF TORTURE ALLEGATIONS

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s president called yesterday for an investigation into journalists’ allegations they were tortured into confessing to charges such as insulting sacred beliefs and endangering national security after publishing articles critical of conservatives in the government. About 20 journalists from print, Internet, and other press outlets have been detained in Iran since a crackdown on the pro-reform press was launched in September. Several of those journalists told a presidential commission last month that they were tortured.

President Khatami said yesterday he would meet with the head of the country’s judiciary about the allegations.

“It’s deplorable even if 10% of what the Web bloggers allege is true,” Mr. Khatami said, referring to the writers who kept online journals, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency. “It’s against the dignity of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It has to be probed.”

Several detainees, some of whom were barred from meeting their attorneys, confessed to charges that included spreading propaganda against the regime and inciting public unrest.

“Confessions were extracted from us under physical and psychological pressures in prison. Apparently we were released but threats against us and even our families have been continued,” said one of the detained bloggers, Hanif Mazroui.

– Associated Press