AP News, February 16th, 2007
A Moroccan suspected of being the hooded man who claimed responsibility for the 2004 Madrid terror bombings on behalf of a group of Muslim militants refused to answer questions from a prosecutor Friday, as the trial went into its second day.
Prosecutors claim Youssef Belhadj is the man seen in a video found near a Madrid mosque two days after the train bombings. The man in the video says the attacks _ which killed 191 people and injured more than 1,800 _ were revenge for the presence of Spanish troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Belhadj, 30, told the three-judge panel that he would only answer questions from his defense lawyer, as is his right under Spanish law. Egyptian suspect Rabei Osman, also accused of being a mastermind of the attacks, refused Thursday to answer prosecutors' questions, but under questioning from his defense attorney denied involvement and condemned the attacks.
Dressed in jeans and a black jacket, Belhadj sat back in his chair while state prosecutor Olga Sanchez asked him if he came to Madrid in February 2004 to give the bombers last-minute instructions about the attack, as Spanish investigators allege.
She asked if he had chosen the date of the attack, whether he was involved in jihad, or holy war, and whether he had ever gone to training camps in Afghanistan or received training about detonating explosives with remote controls.
In the video claiming responsibility, the hooded person claims he is a spokesman for al-Qaida in Europe. Spanish investigators have concluded the Madrid attack was inspired by al-Qaida, but that the bombing cell had no direct links to Osama bin Laden's group and received no financing or logistical support from al-Qaida.
Prosecutors are asking for a prison sentence of 38,656 years for Belhadj, though under Spanish law he can serve no more than 40 years behind bars.
