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
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
Editor: Sonia Phalnikar