October 31, 2007

Spanish Court Convicts 21 & Acquits 7 In Madrid Bombing Case

The outcome of the trial of 28 defendants accused of being involved in the 2004 Madrid train bombings, the worst terrorist attack by Islamic radicals in Europe's history, offered a mixed bag of convictions, sentences and acquittals that left prosecutors and victims with less than they had hoped for.

Three of the eight primary suspects in the case received the highest conviction of mass murder. While Emilio Suarez Trashorras, Jamal Zougam and Othman el-Gnaoui were each sentenced to 40,000 years in prison, the maximum time they can serve under Spanish law is just 40 years.

Eighteen other suspects, including four of the main defendants, were convicted of lesser charges, such as belonging to a terrorist organization (the bombings were attributed to al-Qaida) or arms trafficking, and were served with shorter sentences of three to 18 years in prison.

None of the defendants, who were mostly young Muslim men of Moroccan and Spanish descent, were found guilty of plotting the attacks, which killed 191 people and injured about 1,800 in March 2004. All of them maintained their innocence and claimed no connection to al-Qaida throughout the investigation and trial.

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Posted at 2:53 PM
Posted to: Al-Qaida, Spain, Terrorism
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