Spain:A Spanish court convicted three men of mass murder yesterday for their part in the 2004 Madrid train bombings, while another man alleged in court to be one of the ringleaders was acquitted.
At the end of a four-month trial, 21 of the 28 defendants were convicted on at least one charge for their role in Europe's worst Islamist attack, in which 191 people were killed and more than 1,800 injured when bombs hidden in duffle bags ripped through four crowded commuter trains.
The attacks were Spain's equivalent of 9/11, a day of chaos and confusion as frantic relatives rang mobile phones which went unanswered amid the carnage.
The government of José María Aznar, a Bush ally, blamed the Basque separatist group Eta, despite evidence of Islamist involvement. Three days later he and his People's Party were toppled by an electorate which believed it had been misled.
The heavily guarded courtroom was packed with victims' relatives. Some shouted abuse at the accused, who were held in a bullet-proof chamber, but silence fell as judge Javier Gomez Bermudez read his hour-long verdict.
Many felt the true ringleaders escaped justice by blowing themselves up at a safe house near Madrid as police moved in three weeks after the massacre.
Moroccans Jamal Zougam, who planted at least one bomb, and Otman el-Gnaoui, who helped transport the dynamite, were sentenced to 42,922 years and 42,924 years in prison respectively. They will serve 40 years - the maximum for each of the 191 murders.
Spaniard Emilio Suarez Trashorras, who supplied dynamite in return for drugs, was sentenced to 34,715 years but is expected to serve less than 40 years.
Rabei Osman, known as "the Egyptian", was acquitted. He was accused of being central to the plot, but the only evidence against him was a wiretap recording by Italian police in which he appeared to claim to have been the mastermind.
His lawyer convinced the judges that he had been mistranslated and Mr Osman condemned the attacks at the trial. He watched the verdict from a court in Milan, where he was convicted of membership of a terrorist group.
Victims' relatives expressed shock at the verdicts. Pilar Manjon, who lost her son, said: "I'm not happy that killers are walking free." However, the prime minister, José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who came to power in elections three days after the attack, said he was satisfied: "Justice was rendered today."
Youssef Belhadj, Hassan el- Haski, Abdelmajid Bouchar and Rafa Zouhier were acquitted of murder but found guilty of membership of a terrorist organisation or trafficking in explosives. They were sentenced to between 10 and 18 years.
Fourteen others were convicted of lesser charges.
Zougam and Gnaoui were named as being responsible for placing the bombs, along with seven people who blew themselves up in the Madrid flat. One other man, whose remains were found at the flat, was found to be a member of the 10-man cell. He has never been identified.
Among the dead at the flat were Serhane Ben Abdelmajid, said to be the mastermind, and Jamal Ahmidan, a drug dealer turned extremist.
Judge Gomez said there was no proof of Eta's involvement. The People's Party leader, Mariano Rajoy, said the verdicts would not end the investigation.
The Madrid bombings were different from previous al-Qaeda attacks and the investigation found no evidence of a direct operational link. It appears that the bombers were inspired by al-Qaeda's world vision but did not receive funding or help.
Experts say because the US authorities have succeeded in cutting off funding to al-Qaeda after 9/11, jihadi groups have to find money where they can, often from criminals, in this case largely from Ahmidan's drug dealing. - (Guardian service)