dinsdag, mei 06, 2003
A Japanese photographer detained for questioning in connection with an Iraqi battlefield souvenir that exploded at a Jordanian airport has been indicted for murder. Hiroki Gomi, 36, has not been formally charged but was indicted on four counts in connection with the explosion that killed a security guard May 1. The charges include premeditated murder, possession of explosive materials without a licence, intention to harm and inflicting damage on property, the officials said. Jordan's military prosecutor said Gomi was ordered detained for two weeks pending an investigation.
Gomi was carrying an explosive device obtained in Iraq when it exploded in the hands of Jordanian security guard Ali al-Sarhan, killing him instantly. Three other people were injured, one critically. Yoshiaki Ito, deputy managing director of the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper, Gomi's employer, said the photographer told a Japanese Embassy official he found the two devices while covering the war in Iraq. He apparently kept them for 20 days as souvenirs, unaware they could be live, giving one to a Jordanian assistant and keeping one for himself. Ito said Gomi told him yesterday that he "regrets deeply this tragedy and he did not realise that it was an active bomb."
Jordan's information minister today told visiting executives from the Japanese newspaper that he believed Gomi had no intention to commit any act of sabotage, Jordan's official Petra news agency reported. Ito presented Information Minister Mohammed Affash Adwan with a written apology to relay to Jordan's King Abdullah II. Adwan assured Ito that "distinguished relations between Jordan and Japan in all fields will not be harmed by this individual incident".
Gomi joined Mainichi in 1991 and is based in Tokyo. Between 1996 and 1998, he worked in Jordan for the Japan International Cooperation Agency, Japan's version of the Peace Corps.
Gomi was carrying an explosive device obtained in Iraq when it exploded in the hands of Jordanian security guard Ali al-Sarhan, killing him instantly. Three other people were injured, one critically. Yoshiaki Ito, deputy managing director of the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper, Gomi's employer, said the photographer told a Japanese Embassy official he found the two devices while covering the war in Iraq. He apparently kept them for 20 days as souvenirs, unaware they could be live, giving one to a Jordanian assistant and keeping one for himself. Ito said Gomi told him yesterday that he "regrets deeply this tragedy and he did not realise that it was an active bomb."
Jordan's information minister today told visiting executives from the Japanese newspaper that he believed Gomi had no intention to commit any act of sabotage, Jordan's official Petra news agency reported. Ito presented Information Minister Mohammed Affash Adwan with a written apology to relay to Jordan's King Abdullah II. Adwan assured Ito that "distinguished relations between Jordan and Japan in all fields will not be harmed by this individual incident".
Gomi joined Mainichi in 1991 and is based in Tokyo. Between 1996 and 1998, he worked in Jordan for the Japan International Cooperation Agency, Japan's version of the Peace Corps.
# posted by Jan-Edward : 08:26
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