 |
|
People arrive at the Spain's Supreme
Court in Madrid, Spain, Oct. 31, 2007. Three principals of the "3.11"
terrorist attacks were sentenceed to about 40,000 years of imprisonment by
the court on Wednesday.(Xinhua Photo)
Photo
Gallery>>> |
MADRID, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Spain's supreme court
sentenced on Wednesday the two main defendants in the Madrid train bombing to
more than 42,000 years in prison.
The attacks, on March 11, 2004, killed 191 people and
injured 1,800 others.
 |
|
Mounted police patrol outside the
Spain's Supreme Court in Madrid, Spain, Oct. 31, 2007. (Xinhua
Photo)
Photo
Gallery>>> |
National Court President Javier Gomez read the
sentences during a public hearing carried out under intense security measures.
Dozens of journalists and representatives of victims' families attended the
event.
Moroccan natives Otman El Ganoui and Jamal Zougam
were sentenced to 42,924 years and 42,922 years in prison respectively.
Most of the defendants were Arabs, while the rest
were Spaniards, including Jose Emilio Suarez Tashorras, who was sentenced to
38,976 years in prison, convicted of facilitating the explosives used in making
the bombs.
Seven of the 28 defendants were acquitted, and in
some cases, lower sentences than those requested by the prosecution were handed
down, according to a victims' association.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero
said on Wednesday that the harsh sentences served the terrorists right. Healso
expressed solidarity with the victims' families.
Meanwhile, victims' associations expressed
dissatisfaction with the result, saying they will appeal "wherever necessary."
Angeles Dominguez, head of a group called Help the
M-11 Victims, said that people have been sentenced but they want to know "who
masterminded the attacks."
The accusations against the defendants included
homicide, assassination attempts, explosives possession and membership of
terrorist groups.
Spain does not impose the death sentence nor life
imprisonment and the maximum sentence for a convict is 40 years.
The March 11 terrorist attacks in 2004 was the
deadliest after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, that left
3,500 dead.
The train bomb attacks in Madrid have been blamed on
a group linked to Al Qaida in retaliation for Spanish troops sent to Iraq.
The government of former prime minister Jose Maria
Aznar sent troops to Iraq, while his successor Zapatero withdrew all Spanish
forces.
Spain praises harsh sentences for M-11
terrorist attack
MADRID, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Spain's Prime Minister Jose
Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said on Wednesday that the harsh sentences dictated on
Wednesday for the March 11 of 2004 terrorist attacks have made justice and
established "the truth of the facts." Full story
Spanish court convicts 21 over Madrid
train bombings
 |
|
Judge Javier Gomez Bermudez points as he
takes his seat inside an annex of the High Court before reading out the
verdicts of the 2004 Madrid train bombings trial in Madrid, October 31,
2007. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Photo Gallery>>> |
MADRID, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- A Spanish court Wednesday
found 21 people guilty of involvement in the Madrid train bombings, which killed
191 people and wounded more than 1,800 on March 11, 2004. Full story
