SPAIN: A suspected al-Qaeda cell leader was convicted in Madrid today of conspiring to commit murder in connection with the September 11th, 2001 attacks in the US.
Syrian Imad Yarkas, one of 24 defendants on trial, was sentenced to 27 years for conspiracy and heading a terrorist group. Two other suspects were acquitted of helping plot the attacks, but one was found guilty of collaborating with a terrorist group. The verdict made Yarkas the only person with a standing conviction after being tried over September 11th.
Sixteen others were convicted of belonging to or collaborating with a terrorist organisation, one of which was Tayssir Alouni, a correspondent for the TV network Al-Jazeera. He was convicted of collaboration and sentenced to seven years in jail. - (AP)