World IN BRIEF : ALGERIA : Ex-Officer Convicted of Killing President

A former lieutenant was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1992 assassination of President Mohammed Boudiaf. Lembarak Boumaarafi was accused of machine-gunning Boudiaf while the president gave a speech. At the trial, two videotapes were introduced in which he confessed to the shooting. Rejecting “second gun” theories, prosecutor Abdelmalek Sayah said Boumaarafi acted alone and that there was “neither a plot nor an associate.” Boumaarafi’s lawyers repeatedly delayed the proceedings, then finally quit, saying their client was not being granted a fair trial. Boudiaf’s widow also boycotted the trial, contending Boudiaf was killed on the orders of top military officers.