ALGERIA: 8 SENTENCD TO DEATH FOR MURDER, KIDNAPPINGS

October 24, 2012: An Algerian court sentenced to death eight men for murdering a businessman, the APS agency reported, adding that some of them had confessed to being members of Al-Qaeda.
The trial lasted only three days, involving 14 defendants, six of whom claimed affiliation with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the news agency said.
The eight sentenced to death for pre-meditated murder were also charged with kidnapping for ransom, arms trafficking, money laundering, conspiracy and murder in 2010 of Hend Slimana in a village in the region.
The court of Tizi Ouzou, 100 kilometres (62 miles) east of Algiers, delivered the verdict overnight Wednesday after hearing 41 victims and 11 witnesses, media reports said.
Of the eight sentenced to death, seven were present in the court and one is on the run. The others were given harsh terms of up to 20 years in prison. (Sources: Afp, 25/10/2012)