Judge Gives Guilty Verdicts Over Madrid Bombings

A Spanish judge has given guilty verdicts on some of the 28 people accused in the trial over the 2004 Madrid train bombings, which killed 191 people and injured 1,800.
One of the convicted includes Jamal Zougam, one of the alleged surviving ringleaders.

Four people have been convicted of murder among other offences. Three were sentenced to 30 years in prison for each of the 191 people who died and 20 years each for each of the 1,800 injured. That is around 41730 years in prison. Among the convicted is Spaniard Emilio Suarez Trashorras who was found guilty of supplying explosives.

A reporter for Sky News has said,

“These are the sort of sentences that the prosecution has been pushing for, although we know that under Spanish law no one can serve more than 40 years.”

In total there were 21 people convicted of offences relating to the bombings. Seven others were acquitted. These included alleged ringleader Rabei Osman, who is already serving a 10-year sentence for terror offences in Italy.

Four commuter trains were blown up by ten bombs hidden in sports bags on March 11, 2004. The bombings reshaped Spanish politics and the conservative government that blamed the attacks on Basque separatists ETA were voted out.

The trial has taken four long months and twenty-eight people have been tried for crimes ranging from masterminding the attack to stealing explosives from a mine and selling them on in exchange for drugs.

Reporter Greg Milam added,

“So much of the controversy and conspiracy theories continue and the judge spent a long time summing up the evidence and demolishing those conspiracy theories, pointedly saying that there was no ETA involvment.”

Do you think justice has been served?

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