Slain teacher's family
Photo: Tsafrir Abayov
Court fines suspect who fatally shot Yemeni Jew
Judges rule Muslim defendant mentally incompetent, order him to pay about $250,000 for slaying of Jewish teacher Moshe Yaish Nahari last December
A Yemeni court has ruled that a Muslim on trial for killing a Yemeni Jew is mentally incompetent and ordered h to pay a fine for the fatal shooting.
The slaying of Jewish teacher Moshe Yaish Nahari last December in Omran, north of the capital, San'a, raised fears of anti-Semitic attacks across the country.
Monday's ruling says the defendant – Abdel Aziz Yehia Hamoud al-Abdi, a retired pilot in the Yemeni air force – is "mentally unstable." It orders he pay a fine of 50.5 million riyals, or about $250,000.
Lawyer Khaled al-Anisi representing the slain teacher says the court showed "prejudice" and warned the light ruling opened doors to attacks that could lead to the eviction of the Jewish community from Yemen.
