28 Yamani group members sentenced to death, 19 to life terms in Nassiriya

THI-QAR / IraqiNews.com: The Thi-Qar federal court handed down death sentences against 28 members of the Yamani group, 19 others to life terms and acquitted six who had been charged with affiliation to the outlawed organization, a lawyer for one of the defendants said on Thursady. “Members of the group had been arrested last year on charges of murder, terrorism and affiliation to a banned organization,” the lawyer, who asked that his name not be mentioned, told IraqiNews.com news agency. Clashes that erupted in the Muslim Hegira month of Muharram last year between Ansar (Supporters) Ahmed ibn al-Hassan al-Yamani operatives and Iraqi security authorities left more than 20 people, nine of them civilians and the 11 others, including security commanders in the city of Thi-Qar, killed. Nassiriya, the capital of Thi-Qar province, lies 380 km south of Baghdad. AmR (P) 1