After a trial that lasted eight months, a court in the western city of Koblenz on Monday convicted  Aleem N. of membership in al-Qaeda and of eight counts of breaching German export laws.

The 47-year-old diamond trader was sentenced to eight years in jail for actively supporting the terrorist group. 

Prosecutors said Aleem N. supported al-Qaeda for years, raising money, distributing propaganda material and recruiting new members. He is thought to be a key figure for the organization's German operations.

The German man of Pakistani descent was arrested in February of last year on allegations that he belonged to the terrorist group.

Investigators say that in the summer of 2004, he became part of the inner sanctum of the organization and received orders to recruit new members and supporters in Germany.

Investigators believe that by 2007, Aleem N. had sent four young fighters - together with letters of recommendation - to be trained in terror camps. One of them is believed to be a Bonn-based man, who appeared in an anti-German terrorist video earlier this year.

The defence had called for Aleem N. to be acquitted.

tkw/dpa/reuters

Editor: Chuck Penfold

related article:

Terrorism suspect tells German court he will confess

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: The three members of the so-called "Sauerland" terror group

One of four Islamists standing trial in Germany on charges of planning terrorist attacks on US targets, has told a Duesseldorf court he will confess so as to save time in a case which could well run on into next year.

 

During Tuesday’s hearing, Adem Yilmaz, a Turkish national who grew up in Germany told presiding judge Ottmar Breidling  that he was prepared to make a confession.

"I don't care whether you give me 20 or 30 years,” Yilmaz said. “I just want this finished with, it's boring.”

Yilmaz said he wanted a meeting with the other three members of the German-based Islamic militant “Sauerland Group” before he came clean. The three men, two of whom are German converts to Islam, agreed to meet Yilmaz without their lawyers present.

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  The defendants at the court in DuesseldorfBreidling endorsed the meeting between the defendants, who are held in separate correctional facilities and are not normally allowed any contact with one another. But the judge insisted it take place under the watchful eye of the Federal Office of Criminal Investigation.

“They should not have the opportunity to discuss their plea,” he said of the men who have so far failed to co-operate with police or answer his questions during 14 days in court.

German terror cell

The men allegedly formed their terror cell for the Islamic Jihad Union and stand accused of plotting to plant bombs in bars, discos and US bases in a bid to kill as many US citizens as possible.

But in September 2007, after a tip-off from the US secret service and following months of surveillance, three members of the “Sauerland Group” were caught while using a holiday cottage in the rural Sauerland region from which they take their name.

Authorities also seized  26 detonators and 12 drums of hydrogen peroxide, which could have had devastating consequences had it been used. A fourth man was arrested in Turkey two months later -- they all went on trial together in April 2009.

If convicted, the suspected terrorists could face up to 15 years behind bars.

tkw/nk/dpa/AFP

German security officials, meeting in Berlin on Thursday, told the country's leaders that there was a growing threat of terrorist attacks.

Under-Secretary for the Interior August Hanning said intelligence officers had observed an increase in traffic of Internet video messages, more travel by known Islamists to and from Pakistan, as well as a number of warnings.

"We take this seriously," Hanning said after the meeting. "We will do everything to thwart these efforts." Hanning added that terrorists could attempt to influence Germany's upcoming parliamentary election in September, but said there was no direct knowledge of plans to carry out specific attacks.

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  Security experts are poised to "thwart" terrorist attacks, says Hanning

The Joint Terror Defense Center (GTAZ) in Berlin is said to have warned the German government that a group of about 15 terrorists had left Pakistan to conduct attacks in western countries. The GTAZ reportedly said that among the suspected terrorists were Arabs, Americans, Chechens and four Germans.

An intelligence service warning also names two men – Abu Abdul Rahman al-Najdi and Adam Gadahn – who allegedly trained the men at a terror camp in Pakistan in the first half of this year and have also been responsible for coordinating their mission.

German security experts have been planning with police and the country's emergency services how to respond in the event of a terror attack. They have voiced concern that terrorists may try to influence voters as they did in Spain with the Madrid train bombing on March 11, 2004, or try to pressure Berlin to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.

An unnamed terror expert at the conference said "the hazard had taken on a new leap in quality."

With the start of the summer travel season, the German government has also warned vacationers against visiting countries with a known terrorist potential.

gb/dpa/AFP/zdf
Editor: Michael Lawton