Justice in Madrid,

terrorism.openDemocracy — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 10:00:00 +0000

Verdicts delivered in Madrid bombing trial

Judge Javier Gomez Bermudez read out the verdicts today in the long-running Madrid bombing trial. Three of the defendants - Jamal Zougam, Emilio Suarez Trashorras, and Osman Gnaoui - were found guilty of murder and handed prison terms of tens of thousands of years. The Spanish judicial system does not allow for capitol punishment and life imprisonment, so the sentences are largely symbolic. Eighteen other defendants were found guilty of lesser charges.

Seven defendants - including the alleged mastermind of the attacks, the Egyptian Rabei Osman - were acquitted of all charges. Keep up to date with the latest developments and sharpest perspectives in a world of strife and struggle.

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Most of the convicted men were Muslims of North African origin, who were seeking revenge for Spain's involvement in Iraq. Spanish investigators found no evidence that the attacks were financed or directed by al-Qaida's network, nor did they find any evidence to link the attacks - as conservatives had suggested - to the Basque militant group ETA.

toD covered the trial in detail with blogs from Luisa Barrenechea in Madrid. She reports that Spain has been awaiting the verdicts with anticipation, particularly regarding the judge's understanding of ETA's role in the attacks, which ballooned into a contentious political issue in recent years. Luisa's blog returns next week with a round-up of the fallout from the verdicts.

Contractors to lose immunity

The Iraqi government has approved draft legislation that would lift immunity from private security firms. A recent spate of civilian deaths at the hands of private firms like Blackwater has thrown the inordinate presence in Iraq of such contractors into the limelight.

Mariano Aguirre on openDemocracy argues that mercenaries are undermining the state's control over the monopoly of force.

More Somali piracy Countries mentioned in today's security brief:

- Spain
- Iraq
- Iran
- USA
- Russia
- Afghanistan
- India
- Somalia
- Canada

North Korean sailors fought off Somali pirates who had raided their cargo ship, leaving two gunmen dead and three sailors wounded. This follows on the heels of another piratical attack yesterday. Piracy is becoming increasingly problematic in the Gulf of Aden since the toppling of the Islamic Courts Union government in January.

Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, an exiled leader of the deposed Islamic Courts Union, has backed the ongoing insurgency against government and Ethiopian forces, claiming that yesterday's resignation of the prime minister will do little to change the stubborn disposition of the country's rebels.

Convictions for Hindu mob

A court in the troubled western Indian state of Gujarat has handed out eight life sentences to members of a Hindu mob guilty of killing and raping Muslims in the village of Eral during the bloody 2002 communal riots in the state.

Iran's ominous reshuffle

The "resignation" of Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani - as well as that of General Rahim Safavi, commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Guards - and replacement with men closer to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suggests that Iran is preparing for war, says Omid Memarian on openDemocracy.

According to Iranian officials, US spy planes have breached Iranian airspace, violating the country's territorial integrity.

Togliatti blast

A bomb tore through a bus in the central Russian city of Togliatti today, killing eight people. Officials described the incident as a terrorism attack. Though Moscow has often rushed to accuse Chechen-affiliated militants for such violence, similar attacks have occurred in the past in the lead up to parliamentary elections, which are due next month.

Taliban close in on Kandahar

Taliban forces in Afghanistan have entered into the district of Arghandab, north of Kandahar, the largest city in southern Afghanistan. This is the closest the Taliban have come to Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion. NATO and Afghan forces are launching an offensive to drive the Taliban out of the area.

NATO officials claim to have killed fifty Taliban fighters in Arghandab in recent clashes.

Fighting has intensified in the northwest of Pakistan, with helicopter gunships pounding Islamist militant positions.

Are immigrants a threat to the US?

The Council on Foreign Relations hosts a debate about whether homeland security and immigration reform are intimately linked.

Foreign Policy magazine warns that without openness to immigrants, American world dominance will crumble.

The right-wing Counterterrorism blog tracks "homegrown" Islamist radicalism in the United States.

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Justice in Madrid,