* 10 year sentence from Yemen court for Anwar al-Awlaki (in absentia)
A new wrinkle in the ongoing story of Anwar al-Awlaki (the dual American-Yemeni citizen associated with al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula). Yemen recently prosecuted a man named Hisham Mohammed Assem for the murder of a French oil industry worker in October 2010, obtaining a conviction and death sentence today. The prosecution also included charges against both Anwar al-Awlaki and his cousin Othman al-Awlaki, for inciting Assem to commit the murder. Both were convicted in absentia, and received 10 and 8 year sentences respectively. Al-Jazeera has coverage here.
Coincidentally, Anwar al-Awlaki has a new article in the just-released issue of AQAP’s Inspire magazine. The International Centre for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence (ICSR) has a very handy summary here.
By Robert M. Chesney
Robert M. Chesney is Charles I. Francis Professor in Law at UT-Austin School of Law. Chesney is a national security law specialist, with a particular interest in problems associated with terrorism. Professor Chesney recently served in the Justice Department in connection with the Detainee Policy Task Force created by Executive Order 13493. He is a member of the Advisory Committee of the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Law and National Security, a senior editor for the Journal of National Security Law & Policy, an associate member of the Intelligence Science Board, a non-resident senior fellow of the Brookings Institution, a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a member of the American Law Institute. Professor Chesney has published extensively on topics ranging from detention and prosecution in the counterterrorism context to the states secrets privilege. He served previously as chair of the Section on National Security Law of the Association of American Law Schools and as editor of the National Security Law Report (published by the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Law and National Security). His upcoming projects include two books under contract with Oxford University Press, one concerning the evolution of detention law and policy and the other examining the judicial role in national security affairs.
View all of Robert M. Chesney's posts.
