| A court in Rotterdam has freed four suspected Islamic militants. They were among 12 men on trial for having alleged links to al-Qaeda. The prosecution withdrew the main charge against 10 of the suspects - helping the enemy in a time of armed conflict. The charge hasn't been used since crimes connected to the Second World War. The prosecutor demanded prison terms of between six months and three years. The 12 men, who come from nine countries, including Libya, Egypt, Iraq and Morocco, were arrested last year. The judge let four of them go because the time they already spent in custody was longer than the sentences the prosecutor asked for. The prosecution dropped the rarely-used charge "aiding the enemy" against 10 of the suspects because of a lack of evidence. |