Thamer Qamqoum Okaz/Saudi Gazette ARAR — Iraqi legal sources told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that a lawyer has been appointed to challenge terrorism charges against Hasan Al-Shehry, the Saudi who is sentenced to death, during an appeals court hearing. Lawyer Kamal Saleh will base his appeal on the nonexistence of tangible evidence against Al-Shehry. Okaz/Saudi Gazette obtained a copy of the verdict issued by a three-judge panel, which tried Al-Shehry at the criminal court in Al-Karkh, Iraq, and sentenced him to death. The judges said the sentence was based on findings of investigations. Iraqi security forces arrested Al-Shehry in 2005 in Al-Mosel city and charged him with heading an armed gang with the intention of crippling the law and creating havoc in the country. The judges charged Al-Shehry of using false identity to evade trial, and that he entered Iraq with six Arab nationals via the Syrian border. He was arrested by the American troops with other Arabs and Iraqi citizens, and was detained in Abu Ghraib prison. He was later transferred to Bucca prison. A legal expert confirmed that the sentence was based on the single point that Al-Shehry was arrested with a group of Arabs and Iraqis. The judges treated this as sufficient grounds for accusing him of terrorism and sentencing him to execution.
