Trial of German train bombers adjourned for third time
Posted : Thu, 10 May 2007 10:02:01GMT Author : DPA http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/61250.html Beirut- The trial of four Lebanese accused of attempting to bomb trains in Germany in July of last year was adjourned Wednesday until May 22, after a 20-minute court session. "The trial was adjourned until May 22. The judge has refused to move the trial from Beirut to Tripoli, (northern Lebanon)," defence lawyer Fawaz Zakariyeh told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. "I again appealed to the judge and said the Beirut criminal court is not entitled to try the four suspects in Beirut because they were arrested in - and are all from - northern Lebanon. So their trial should be in the northern port city of Tripoli," he added. The four main suspects are Jihad Hamad, Khaled al-Hajj Dib, Ayman Hawwa and Khalil Bubu. They face up to 25 years in prison if convicted. The head of the Beirut criminal court, Judge Abu Arraj, presided over the court along with three other judges. According to a judicial source, Hamad's lawyer is seeking to have the trail postponed until June, when Judge Arraj is due to retire and be replaced by a new judge. Arraj is known "for his harsh sentences when it comes to charges linked with terrorism," the source said. The four accused arrived at the Lebanese Justice Palace in a armoured jail truck - accompanied by three black cars from the Lebanese special forces - from the central prison in Roumieh, 20 kilometres north-east of the capital. Judge Arraj decided on March 5 to start the trial after interrogating the four. Al-Hajj Dib's brother, Youssef Mohammed, was arrested in Germany last August on similar charges. "The Lebanese judge will also be trying Youssef al-Hajj Dib in absentia, despite the fact that he is in a German jail," lawyer Fawaz Zakariyeh said last month. Lebanon's general prosecutor, Said Mirza, has opposed transferring Lebanese suspects to Germany. They were "Lebanese citizens," he said, "their trial needs to take place here, and they must serve here any sentence they may be given." Hamad has already confessed under judicial interrogation in March to having placed a suitcase containing explosives on a train in Germany on July 31 last year. The bomb had been planted on a train from Aachen to Hamm, while another bomb was planted in a train heading from Moenchengladbach to Koblenz. Hamad was quoted during his interrogation as saying that his intentions had not been to kill people, "but to avenge any harm done to Muslims after the publication in Denmark of cartoons that were harmful to the Prophet Mohammed." The plan failed when the bombs concealed on the two regional trains did not explode because of faulty detonators. Hamad and Youssef al-Hajj Dib, the two main suspects, were said by Lebanese security sources to have been influenced by the late al- Qaeda chief in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
