Terrorism suspects offer admissions to German court (Roundup)

Jun 9, 2009, 16:09 GMT

Dusseldorf, Germany - In a sudden change of heart, four Islamists on trial in Germany for plotting to car-bomb US military bases have offered to jointly admit the charges and give details of the plot, Ricarda Lang, a defence lawyer, said Tuesday.

The court had earlier adjourned when one of the accused, Adem Yilmaz, 29, who is a Turkish national raised in Germany, told judges he was willing to confess. He claimed he was not primarily seeking a reduced sentence.

'I couldn't care less how long you give me, whether it's 20 or 30 years. I just want to get what we're doing here over and done with. It's boring,' he told the court.

'There's no sense in sitting here saying nothing, then getting the full whammy,' added Yilmaz.

The court granted his request to talk with this fellow accused without defence lawyers present, and with only two police present to guard and listen to the men. The admissions are expected to take place in slow testimony lasting days or even weeks.

Lang said her client Yilmaz was 'bored' because he had difficulty grasping legal language and procedures, and he was concerned at the potential discomfort of sitting through hearings when fasting for Ramadan begins at the end of August.

Daniel Schneider and Fritz Gelowicz, two German converts to Islam, and Yilmaz allegedly bought chemicals and planned huge explosions at bases in Germany. They were arrested in 2007 before they could carry out any attack.

The fourth accused, Attila Selek, was later caught in Turkey.

Prosecutor Volker Brinkmann warned that if they did not confess soon there would be no option to reduce their ultimate prison sentences.

Yilmaz has jeered at the trial from its start seven weeks ago, often interjecting or refusing to stand up in respect when judges enter the room. The trial is expected to last for many more months, even if the group confess.

German police arrested the main trio in September 2007 after months of surveillance allegedly showed a plot to blow up US bases on behalf of the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU), a shadowy group said to be as dangerous as al-Qaeda.

All four defendants have so far refused to talk to police or to answer questions by presiding judge Ottmar Breidling.