Reuters News Article
Spain bomb suspects face court Thu 18 March, 2004 10:11 AM By Elisabeth O'Leary MADRID (Reuters) - Five men arrested in connection with Madrid's suspected al Qaeda bombings appear in court today as Spain hunts for links with Islamic militants abroad. Three Moroccans and two Indians face a closed-door preliminary hearing on Thursday at what the government says is a "decisive phase" in the inquiry into Western Europe's worst guerrilla attack in more than 15 years. The bombs a week ago killed 201 and wounded more than 1,750. The political fallout from the blasts helped provoke a major election upset, ushering in a Socialist leader who has vowed to stand by his pledge to pull Spain's troops from Iraq despite a call from U.S. President George W. Bush to stay the course. Spain's incoming Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero faces growing U.S. criticism over his stance, which was one of his election pledges. Expected Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry urged him on Wednesday to reconsider, saying he should "send a message that terrorists cannot win by their acts of terror". On the same early morning trains coming into Madrid from commuter town Alcala de Henares one week on, the trauma was still palpable. "I am very, very frightened, but you have to go on. What else can we do?" said Colombian cleaner Martha Lorena, boarding the 7.00 a.m. train to Madrid for the first time since the attacks. She lost a friend and would have been on one of the bombed trains had she not taken her daughter to the doctor. The normally packed trains were still only half-full. LETTER PROMISES TRUCE A letter signed by a group which has claimed responsibility for the bombs, sent to a pan-Arab newspaper on Wednesday, will give fresh ammunition to critics who argue that Spain's withdrawal would hand victory to the attackers. The letter said the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades, which claims links to al Qaeda, was calling a Europe-wide truce until it knew Zapatero's intentions over Iraq. A jailed Indonesian Muslim preacher linked to al Qaeda said the Madrid attacks were the consequence of Spain's support for Washington and should serve as a warning to other U.S. allies. "The people of Spain have put pressure on their government because in their opinion the bombings were caused by the government's support of America, and that was correct," Abu Bakar Bashir told Australian television. Zapatero, who calls the Iraq occupation a "fiasco", trailed in the polls before the Madrid blasts on four commuter trains, which Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's team instantly blamed on Basque separatists ETA. Outrage over Iraq war supporter Aznar's handling of the attack amid reports of pressure on the media to pin the blame on ETA, along with a revival of public opposition to the Iraq war, swept Zapatero to power. He takes office next month. Police are hunting some 20 Moroccans, who may also be linked to May's Casablanca attack in which 45 people died. The five arrested suspects -- including a Moroccan named as Jamal Zougam -- are expected to return to jail after their court appearance on Thursday. Separately, Imad Eddim Barakat Yarkas, also known as Abu Dahdah -- described as al Qaeda's leader in Spain and charged with a role in the September 11 U.S. attacks -- was due to appear in a different court on Thursday, El Pais reported. ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
