Exemplary sentence demanded for al-Qaida suspects
A Spanish prosecutor criticised the US war on terror today as he requested an “exemplary sentence” against an alleged al-Qaida cell, three members of which are accused of helping plot the September 11 attacks in the US.
“We don’t need wars. We don’t need detention camps, but rather this kind of trial that strengthens the rule of law,” prosecutor Pedro Rubira said in closing arguments at the trial of 24 alleged al-Qaida members. He was apparently referring to the US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and the Guantanamo Bay detention camp for terror suspects.
Addressing the three-judge panel that will issue a sentence, he said: “The world will be watching when you issue a sentence.”
“Be aware that what you do not only affects Spain, but affects the whole world,” he added.
“I ask the court for an exemplary sentence,” Rubira said after the court heard two months of testimony. A sentence is expected in September.
The prosecution is seeking jail terms totalling more than 74,000 years for the alleged cell leader, Syrian-born Spaniard Imad Yarkas, and two other suspects accused of using Spain as a staging ground to help plot the September 11 attacks.
The three men are accused of being accessories to terrorist murder. Rubira is seeking 25 years for each of the nearly 3,000 people killed in the suicide airliner attacks in New York and Washington.
The 21 other suspects are accused of terrorism and other offences, but not planning for September 11. They face sentences of nine to 21 years if convicted.
