Madrid Bombings "Mastermind" Acquitted

3 Other Key Defendants Convicted Of Mass Murder, Terrorism For Attack That Killed 191

(AP)  Three lead defendants in the 2004 Madrid train bombings were convicted of mass murder and other charges Wednesday, but the verdict was only a partial victory for prosecutors.

An accused ringleader was acquitted altogether and four other top suspects came away with lesser convictions. In all, 21 of the 28 people on trial for alleged participation in the March 11, 2004 bombings were found guilty on at least some charges.

Seven defendants got off entirely — including an Egyptian who prosecutors alleged bragged that he masterminded the attacks. The blasts killed 191 people and injured more than 1,800.

Four other top suspects — Youssef Belhadj, Hassan el Haski, Abdulmajid Bouchar and Rafa Zouhier — were acquitted of murder but convicted of lesser charges including belonging to a terrorist organization. They received sentences of between 10 and 18 years.

Much of the evidence against the men was circumstantial, but prosecutors had hoped it would add up to convictions. Bouchard, for instance, had been placed on one of the bombed trains shortly before the attack, but at trial nobody could definitively identify him.

While observers say circumstantial evidence is admissible in Spanish court, it is possible the judges were loath to rely heavily upon it because of a number of high-profile terror cases that were overturned on appeal, including one involving a Spanish cell accused of involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks.

The three lead suspects convicted of murder and attempted murder each received sentences ranging from 34,000 to 43,000 years in prison, although under Spanish law the most time they can spend in jail is 40 years. Spain has no death penalty or life imprisonment.

The three are: Jamal Zougam, a Moroccan convicted of placing at least one bomb on one of the trains; Emilio Suarez Trashorras, a Spaniard who is a former miner found guilty of supplying the explosives used in the attacks; and Othman Gnaoui, a Moroccan accused of being a right-hand man of the plot's operational chief.

A senior court official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the evidence against the acquitted Egyptian, Rabei Osman, was "very thin."

Osman, who is in jail in Italy, had allegedly boasted in a wiretapped phone conversation that the massacre was his idea. But his defense attorneys argued successfully that the tapes were mistranslated.

Judge Javier Gomez Bermudez read out the verdicts in a hushed courtroom, with heavy security, including bomb-sniffing dogs and police helicopters, outside.

In addition to Osman, six lesser suspects were acquitted on all charges. Fourteen other people were found guilty of lesser charges like belonging to a terrorist group, bringing the total number convicted to 21 of the 28 defendants.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who came to power after the attacks, welcomed the verdicts. "Justice was rendered today," he said.

The attacks have "left a deep imprint of pain on our collective memory, an imprint that stays with us as a homage to the victims," said Zapatero.

Most of the suspects are young Muslim men of North African origin who allegedly acted out of allegiance to al Qaeda to avenge the presence of Spanish troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, although Spanish investigators say they did so without a direct order or financing from Osama bin Laden's terror network.

Bermudez said the probe had turned up no evidence of involvement by the armed Basque separatist group ETA, dismissing the initial argument of the conservative pro-U.S. government in power at the time of the attacks. The theory is still embraced by many Spaniards.

The blasts targeting crowded, morning rush-hour commuter trains arguably toppled its government — the first time an administration that backed the U.S.-led Iraq war was voted out of power.

That day of carnage, wailing sirens and cell phones going unanswered amid the wreckage of blackened, gutted trains is etched in Spain's collective memory and is now widely known as simply 11-M, much as the term 9/11 conjures up so much pain for Americans.

Seven suspected ringleaders of the attacks — including the operational chief and an ideologue — blew themselves up in a safe house outside Madrid three weeks after the massacre as special forces who tracked them via cell phone traffic moved in to arrest them.

The attacks had profound political repercussions and left Spaniards deeply and bitterly divided between supporters of conservatives in power at the time of the massacre and Socialists who accused the government of making Spain a target for al Qaeda by supporting the Iraq war and sending in 1,300 troops.

The government of then-Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar initially blamed Basque separatists for the bombings, even as evidence of Islamic involvement emerged.

This led to charges of a cover-up to deflect attention away from the government's support for the war, and in elections three days after the bombings the conservatives lost to the opposition Socialists, who quickly brought the Spanish troops home.

[terrorislam4]

I STAND WITH THE DANES

FASCIST NAZI TERRORISLAM IS
Persona non grata

Exclusive: Salute the Danish Flag! - It%u2019s a Symbol of Western Freedom By Susan MacAllen
In Denmark, once-liberal immigration policies have forced huge governmental change and zero tolerance for Muslim immigrants intent on turning Denmark into an Islamic welfare haven. FSM Contributing Editor Susan MacAllen reveals a shocking reaction there and lessons America must learn.
http://familysecuritymatters.org/homeland.php?id=1172085

[terrorislam4]

more terrorislam sponsored genocide

Thinktank accuses Saudi regime over hate literature

The controversial state visit of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, which got under way today with a lavish ceremony, has prompted new criticism over his regime''''s alleged role in distributing hate literature in British mosques.
The Policy Exchange thinktank found extremist literature in a quarter of the 100 mosques and Islamic institutions it visited, including London Central Mosque in Regent''''s Park, which is funded by Saudi Arabia.

Some of the literature advocated violent jihad, murdering gay people and stoning adulterers, its researchers found.
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/foreignaffairs/story/0,,2201805,00.html

[hungry1968]

rangerdahl


You''re sick of the liberals complaining about the war all the time?

The last poll I saw, said that 78% of Americans are against the war, and 64% want our troops out as soon as possible. That''s an awful lot of liberals in this country!!

But who cares about the will of the people, right? What - are we all of a sudden a Democracy or something?

[feelfree1]

rangerdahl,

Re: "And, I liked your last post from the web site..."

The quote was mine, not from a website. Learn to read, quit your whining, and educate yourself, and you might be able to avoid disgracing yourself and being duped into fighting fraud-based illegal wars for the profit of others, in the future.

[rangerdahl]

FeelFree1:

Not belly-aching. And, I have to go back to Iraq since sackless guys like you won''t. But, I don''t mind either.

And, I liked your last post from the web site...Soldiers have done more for that country in the last five years than all you numb nut liberals put together.

I''ve been there, I''ve seen it.

I''m not belly-aching bud...just saying your whining is grating.

[feelfree1]

rangerdahl,

Re: "Every single day of my life I have to hear someone complain about America."

Quit your belly-aching.

Re: "I went to Iraq twice and am going back."

Too bad. Some people just can''t seem to learn from their mistakes. If you don''t have any respect for our Constitution, then you have failed your oath and your country, and you should find another place to live.

www.ivaw.org

Best of luck to the people of Iraq in defending yourselves against the brutal, disgraceful, and criminal invasion of your country!

www.couragetoresist.org

[greco99-2009]

I see some posts trying to framing war critics as ''terror supporters''. This is clearly ridiculous, and downright anti-American.

Criticism of the war failings (and related corruption) is very Patriotic, and an honest understanding the root cause of the current failure is vitally important to any future success.

I also see arguments provided by the remaining republicans on these boards ''to kill muslims'' and otherwise engage in an unwinable cultural war that only creates more terrorists.

We are not fighting for Democracy. This justification was always a bald lie. Bush won''''t even whisper the word ''Democracy'' while he scampers to kiss Saudi kings and princes, and other ''muslim extremists''.

The dollar is crashing and oil is skyrocketing directly because of the war. The deficit has exploded, and corruption is widespread. The war hurts US companies negotiating oil contracts. For the costs so far, we could put solar in 50 million U.S. homes to generate more energy than we will ever get from Iraq. Contrators are alleged to have sold weapons to our enemies and engaged in child S*x trafficing -- with minimal or no prosecution.

For the few Republicans remaining out there -- Bush has fed you lies and you have been made to appear as a liar by repeating his lies. He will abandon you and the soldiers as well. Watch Republicans cut veteren''''s benefits, and Democrats work to provide services.

[rangerdahl]

FeelFree1:

"I''m a Soldier; I fight where I''m told and I win where I fight"--George Patton

And, I believe Patton serves my purposes better than George "the sky is falling" Orwell.

Orwell was a punk who thoght everybody was corrupt and the world was a failure--he''s bumper sticker phrase guy who young, liberal bohemians, latch themselves onto as they discover themselves in liberal arts colleges.

[rangerdahl]

FeelFree1:

Every single day of my life I have to hear someone complain about America. It''s bad coming from the candy-*ss Europeans but even worse coming from Americans who scrape and bow before the UN and apologize on behalf of all Americans. Don''t apologize for me. We aren''t fascist Nazis but we aren''t lap dogs either. I have nothing to apologize for. I went to Iraq twice and am going back. I was glad to kick Saddam in the nuts, even if he didn;t have WMD. Who cares?...he was an @ssh*le and needed to be kicked in the nuggets. And, I''m glad Bush has the guts to push the weak out of the way and let us handle what needs to be done while the rest of the world waves their finger at us and says "tut, Tut".

[feelfree1]

rangerdahl,

Re: "I''m weary of it. I''m sick of it."

Who cares? Looks like you are the whiner here.

"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."- George Orwell