The Syrian head of a Spanish-based Al-Qaeda cell, Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas, alias Abu Dahdah, sits in court as he and 23 others await the verdict in Europe's biggest Al-Qaeda trial in Madrid. (AFP photo)

MADRID, Sept. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- The Spanish Supreme Court sentenced Syrian-born Al-Qaida leader in Spain, Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas, to 27 years in jail on Monday.

    Yarkas, 42, who is regarded as the head of a Spain-based Al-Qaida cell and had been under investigation since 1995, had faced a record jail term of 74,377 years for "active complicity" in terrorist attacks.

    Yarkas had been charged with arranging a meeting in the Tarragona region of Spain in July 2001, where key Sept. 11 plotters met to decide on last-minute details, including the date of the attacks.

    Prosecutor Pedro Rubira had demanded 25 years in prison for each of the 2,973 victims in the Sept. 11 attacks and a further 12years for Yarkas' alleged leading role in Al-Qaida.

    The court also sentenced Driss Chebli, a Moroccan, six years inprison for collaborating with a terrorist group. He was alleged to have helped set up the meeting in Tarragona, but was acquitted of murder charges.

    Ghasoub al-Abrash Ghalyoun, who was indicted over a detailed video he shot of the World Trade Center and other landmarks during a trip to several US cities in 1997, was acquitted by the court.

    Monday's sentences concluded Europe's biggest trial of 24 suspected Islamist militants. 18 of them, mostly belonging to or having cooperating with Al-Qaida, were convicted and sentenced to jail terms ranging from six to 27 years.

    All the defendants had claimed they were innocent and representatives of several said they would appeal. They have 10 days to file an appeal with the Supreme Court.

    A three-judge panel heard from more than 100 witnesses during the trial that ran from April to early July at a high-security courtroom on the outskirts of Madrid. Enditem