AMMAN, Jan 31 (AFP) - Jordan's state prosecutor on Monday charged a Jordanian man with the murder three years ago of a US diplomat for which Iraq's most wanted man Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been sentenced to death.
Prosecutor Mahmud Obeidat accused Moamar al-Jaghbir of "plotting to carry out terrorist acts leading to the death of an individual," according to the charge sheet.
Jaghbir was arrested in Iraq by US forces and handed over to the Jordanian authorities in May.
Jordan's state security court, a military tribunal, sentenced Jordanian Islamist Zarqawi and seven others to death in April 2004 for the murder of Laurence Foley, 62, of the US aid agency USAID.
Two other people were sentenced to six and 15 years of hard labor, and the 11th defendant was acquitted.
Foley was shot dead at close range on October 28, 2002, outside his west Amman home by a lone gunman.
Of the 11 people on trial for Foley's murder, five were present in court in April while the other six were tried in their absence, including Jaghbir.
But in line with Jordanian law he must face a new trial now that he has been arrested and is in custody.
Jaghbir "is one of the members of the group who conspired to carry out attacks against Americans in the kingdom", including the murder of Foley, Obeidat told AFP.
Zarqawi, whose real name is Fadel Nazzal al-Khalayleh, was accused of being the brains behind the assassination.
Zarqawi is Al-Qaeda's frontman in Iraq and has a 25-million-dollar US bounty on his head.
01/31/2005 16:17 GMT - AFP