Madrid Train Bombers Aquitted In Spain

July 17, 2008 · Filed Under Legal News, Terrorist Attack, War on Terror

This is what happens when you treat terrorism like a law enforcement matter and use civilian courts.

A Spanish court absolved four men and upheld the acquittal of a fifth on Thursday in the convoluted legal proceedings relating to the 2004 Madrid commuter train bombings that killed 191 people in the deadliest attack by Islamic militants on European soil.

The rulings followed appeals of some of 21 convictions by a lower court after a five-month trial that ended in October. Seven other people were acquitted at that time.

Most dramatically, the court on Thursday upheld the acquittal of one of the bombing’s accused masterminds, Rabei Osman, an Egyptian, who was found guilty in 2006 in Italy of belonging to a terrorist organization.

Mr. Osman was arrested in Italy in June 2004, but disputed prosecution evidence citing wiretaps in which he was purported to have said he had conceived the idea of the attacks.

After all the dust settled, 3 of the 4 masterminds of the horrific Madrid train bombings were aquitted. The only person who wasn’t aquitted was the guy who provided the explosives and he only received a 4-year sentence.

Terrorism experts said that verdict illustrated the difficulty of building a solid case against suspected Islamists when they belong to a diffuse group with local foot soldiers and no formal structure.

It’s a mistake to rely on a civilian legal system to try complex terror cases. Denial of habeas corpus rights, indefinite detention at a secret military facility, and eventually a military tribunal, is the correct way to handle these killers.

It’s inconceivable that 3 of the 4 masterminds of such a savage attack were acquitted. Those men are responsible for 191 deaths and more than 1,800 injured when they blew up four commuter trains simultaneously in Madrid, Spain on March 11, 2004.

(hat tip to Michelle)