Mombasa suspects deny murder

The case is being closely followed

Five Kenyans accused of involvement in last year's bombing of an Israeli-owned hotel in Mombasa have pleaded not guilty to murder.

The men, who are Kenyan Muslims from the coast, face the murder charges after the car bomb last November that killed 12 Kenyans and three Israelis.

The United States has blamed the al-Qaeda group for the attack. The suicide bombing happened at almost exactly the same time as missiles were launched at an Israeli commercial flight taking off from the nearby port city of Mombasa, narrowly missing their target.

The legal case is the most high-profile one seen in the country.

But there was confusion and drama in Kenya's courts this morning.

The BBC's Ishbel Matheson says the case took an unexpected twist when the chief magistrate released the five.

But this was a legal technicality because the government has changed the way murder cases are dealt with in the Kenyan courts.

Criticism

Within two hours the accused had been re-arrested and were asked to enter a plea against the charges in the High Court.

Images of Mombasa hotel attack

The five men answered not guilty to all 15 counts of murder.

The new procedure came into effect at the end of last month.

Correspondents in Kenya say the Muslim community has been unhappy with the way they are treated by the police.

There has been criticism of the police for refusing to allow supporters of the accused into the magistrates' court.