|
A Spanish judge has charged two more suspects, including a woman, in the March 11 commuter train bombings around Madrid, bringing the total number of people charged in the attacks to 11.
Court officials said Judge Juan del Olmo charged Naima Oulad and Rafa Zuher, both Moroccan nationals, with collaborating with a terrorist group in connection with the bombings, which killed 190 people.
A court spokeswoman said both Oulad and Zuher maintained their innocence in the closed hearing, condemned Islamic terrorism and denied being members of the al-Qaeda terrorist network.
Oulad is the sister of a man who also faces charges in the case. Khalid Oulad was already held on other charges in the northern city of Salamanca and is scheduled to be arraigned later this week.
One more person has been arrested but has not yet been charged in the attacks, the court spokeswoman said.
The new charges were announced after a state funeral for the victims of the bombings Wednesday afternoon.
The leaders of 14 countries were among those who attended the service in Madrid's Almudena Cathedral, led by Spanish King Juan Carlos.
Earlier, three Moroccan men and a Spaniard were charged in association with the train bombings.
The men were charged with mass murder and associating with a terrorist organization.
One Moroccan was released because there was insufficient evidence against him, a court spokeswoman said.
After a seven-hour proceeding on Monday, the judge announced the following charges:
l Jose Emilio Suarez Trashorras, a Spaniard, faces one count of belonging to or collaborating with a terrorist organization, 190 counts of murder, 1,430 counts of attempted murder, four counts of causing terrorist damage, and one count of robbery or the removal of explosives.
The court spokeswoman said Trashorras admitted to leading other people to the explosives, but said he was not aware of the gravity of the situation.
l Abderrahim Zbakh, a Moroccan, was charged with one count of belonging to or collaborating with a terrorist organization, 190 counts of murder, 1,430 counts of attempted murder and four counts of causing terrorist damage.
The court spokeswoman said Zbakh cried as he appeared before the judge.
l Mohamed El Hadi Chedadi, a Moroccan, charged with one count of belonging to or collaborating with a terrorist organization.
His brother, Said Chedadi, was indicted last September by a Spanish judge for links to al-Qaeda.
l Abdelouahid Berrak, a Moroccan, charged with one count of belonging to or collaborating with a terrorist organization.
l Farid Oulad Ali, a Moroccan, was released because there was not sufficient evidence against him, the court spokeswoman said.
Meanwhile Tuesday a Spanish judge lifted the "incommunicado" status of two Indian men arrested shortly after the bombings.
The ruling means that the two Indians can try to find lawyers and can see their family members.
The two Indian suspects -- Vinay Kholy and Uresh Kumar -- were charged with collaborating with a terrorist organization, as well as fraud and forging a document.
Anti-terror experts have told CNN in recent days they expected the number of suspects arrested to increase dramatically from the number currently being held.
One expert told CNN to expect as many as 30 arrests overall as police close in on suspected culprits and their accomplices.
(China Daily March 25, 2004)
|
