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21 Guilty in Madrid Train Blasts

Posted Oct 31, 07 9:53 AM CDT in World 

(Newser) – A court in Madrid has convicted 21 defendants in the March 2004 commuter train bombings that killed 191 and injured thousands. The court delivered symbolic sentences of 38,976 years for the three lead defendants, although under Spanish law they will only serve 40 years. But, writes the Guardian, the tribunal acquitted one of the suspected masterminds and six other accused.

The defendants were under high security with helicopters overhead as the judge read out the verdicts after a five-month trial. The acquittal of Rabei Osman, however, comes as a shock: he is already a convicted terrorist doing time in Italy. The Madrid bombings, the deadliest European attack since the Lockerbie bombing, occurred three days before Spanish elections that brought Socialists to power.

Sources Guardian (UK), BBC

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A police officer stands in front of a glass cage holding the Madrid train bomb suspects at the national Court in Madrid, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2007. The court convicted 21 defendants and acquitted 7.   (Associated Press)
Rescue workers cover up bodies alongside a bomb-damaged passenger train, following a number of explosions in Madrid, Spain, in this March 11, 2004 file photo. The court convicted 21 defendants and acquitted...   (Associated Press)
Judge Javier Gomez Bermudez arrives at the National Court in Madrid, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2007. The court convicted 21 defendants and acquitted 7.   (Associated Press)
A police offers takes position as a helicopter flies overhead at the National Court in Madrid, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2007. The court convicted 21 defendants and acquitted 7.   (Associated Press)
Mouhannad Almallah Dabas, centre left, sits inside a glass cage with other suspects at the national Court in Madrid, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2007. The court convicted 21 defendants and acquitted 7.   (Associated Press)
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