More appeals announced against Madrid bombings verdicts

Nov 7, 2007, 16:21 GMT

Madrid - The main association representing the victims of the 2004 Madrid train bombings announced Wednesday that it would appeal against the verdicts of eight of the 28 people who had been charged with involvement in Spain's biggest terrorist attack.

The National Court last week found 21 of the accused guilty, handing them sentences ranging from three to more than 40,000 years in prison, and acquitted seven people of involvement in the deaths of 191 people on March 11, 2004.

The association 11-M People Affected by Terrorism said it joined National Court prosecutors in appealing against the acquittal of Egyptian Rabei Osman el-Sayed Ahmed.

The court had said there was not sufficient evidence that el-Sayed had masterminded the Islamist bombings, and that he could also not be convicted of belonging to a terrorist organization, because he was already serving a sentence for that same offence in Italy.

The association was also appealing against the sentences handed to Moroccan Rafa Zouhier, who helped the bombers buy explosives, and to his countrymen Hassan el-Haski, Abdelmajid Bouchar, Youssef Belhadj and Fouad el-Morabit, who were found guilty of crimes such as membership in a terrorist organization.

The five were handed sentences ranging from 10 to 18 years, which the association found too low.

The highest jail terms were given to two other Moroccans, who got more than 40,000 years for direct participation in the bombings, and to a Spaniard, who was given nearly 35,000 years for supplying them with dynamite.

The 11-M association was also appealing against the acquittal of two other Spaniards who had been charged with helping the explosives trafficker.