Spanish court throws out 9/11 conviction
By MARIA JESUS PRADES, Associated Press Writer Thu Jun 1, 3:05 PM ET
MADRID, Spain - Spain‘s Supreme Court on Thursday threw out an al-Qaida suspect‘s conviction for conspiracy to commit murder in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, weeks after prosecutors acknowledged the evidence against him was weak.
Before the ruling, Yarkas had been the only person in the world with a standing conviction over the Sept. 11 attacks after a trial. Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person charged in the United States, pleaded guilty in April 2004 and was sentenced to life in prison in May. He did not stand trial. A Moroccan convicted in Germany in 2003 was later acquitted on appeal.
The court announced only its verdicts in the Yarkas appeal and the other cases, not its grounds for the decisions. The explanation is expected to be released in a few days, court officials said.
Yarkas was sentenced to 15 years for conspiracy to commit murder in the Sept. 11 attacks and 12 years for belonging to a terrorist organization. He was the only person at the Spanish trial convicted specifically of Sept. 11 involvement. Chebli and one other man facing charges of planning Sept. 11 were acquitted.
another fake out
MADRID, Spain - Spain‘s Supreme Court on Thursday threw out an al-Qaida suspect‘s conviction for conspiracy to commit murder in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, weeks after prosecutors acknowledged the evidence against him was weak.
Before the ruling, Yarkas had been the only person in the world with a standing conviction over the Sept. 11 attacks after a trial. Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person charged in the United States, pleaded guilty in April 2004 and was sentenced to life in prison in May. He did not stand trial. A Moroccan convicted in Germany in 2003 was later acquitted on appeal.
The court announced only its verdicts in the Yarkas appeal and the other cases, not its grounds for the decisions. The explanation is expected to be released in a few days, court officials said.
Yarkas was sentenced to 15 years for conspiracy to commit murder in the Sept. 11 attacks and 12 years for belonging to a terrorist organization. He was the only person at the Spanish trial convicted specifically of Sept. 11 involvement. Chebli and one other man facing charges of planning Sept. 11 were acquitted.
another fake out
