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'Extremists' disrupt bomb trial
16/10/2007 14:02 - (SA)
Madrid - The trial of 30 suspected Islamic militants accused of plotting bomb attacks in Madrid was temporarily suspended Tuesday on its second day because of protests by the defendants.
The 30 men stood up and began chanting "Ill-treatment! Ill-treatment" after the head judge told one of the accused that the court was not the right place to complain of abuse they have allegedly suffered while in prison.
Some held up signs against the bullet-proof glass separating the defendants and the three judges hearing the case that read: "This is Guantanamo, they are not respecting fundamental rights", a reference to the US prison camp in Cuba.
After the accused ignored repeated orders to sit down, head judge Alfonso Guevera ordered the temporary suspension of the trial, which resumed after about an hour.
The men, most of whom are Algerian and Moroccan, were detained just months after the Madrid train bombings in March 2004 which killed 191 people and injured over 1 800 others, making it Spain's worst terrorist attack to date.
Prosecutors believe they planned to drive a truck packed with 500kg of explosives into Spain's National Audience where they are currently on trial. The court is Spain's nerve centre for investigating and judging terrorism cases.
The group's other targets included a busy Madrid train station and the headquarters of the conservative Popular Party, according to Spanish authorities.
The accused are charged with belonging to a terrorist organisation, conspiracy to commit a terrorist attack and forgery.
Public prosecutors are demanding prison sentences of between two and 46 years for the mostly Algerian defendants, although under Spanish law the longest jail term anyone can actually serve for terrorist crimes is 40 years.
- AFP
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