A German court on Wednesday convicted three Middle Eastern men of belonging to a terrorist group linked to Al Qaeda and of plotting to attack Jewish targets in Germany. A fourth man was found guilty of supporting the group. The defendants - two Jordanians, a Palestinian and an Algerian - were sentenced to between five and eight years in prison by the court in DÃŒsseldorf, Germany, which said the men were taking orders from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a terrorist leader at the center of the bloody insurgency in Iraq. "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi should also be sitting on the defendants' bench," said the judge, Ottmar Breidling, who delivered the verdict.The decision, announced two months after a court in Hamburg, Germany, found a Moroccan man guilty of belonging to Al Qaeda and sentenced him to seven years in prison, is viewed by terrorism specialists here as further evidence that Germany is cracking down on militant Islamic groups. "This is very important because it sends a political signal that Germany is doing all it can to hunt down terrorists," said Rolf Tophoven, a counterterrorism specialist. "It's a psychological victory." The German interior minister, Otto Schily, said he welcomed the verdicts "as part of the fight against terrorism."
The planned attacks, against two Jewish-owned discos in DÃŒsseldorf and a community center in Berlin, were foiled by what the judge said was decisive action by German police and intelligence agents. The four men were arrested in April 2002, with a fifth, Shadi Abdullah, who became the main witness against them after making a deal with prosecutors to testify. In addition to plotting the attacks, three of the men were convicted of belonging to a terrorist cell and of having forged documents to stay in Germany. Some even received financial support from the state.
The court sentenced the group's leader, Muhammad Abu Dhess, a Jordanian, to eight years in prison. Two other defendants - Ismail Shalabi, also of Jordan, and Aschraf al-Dagma, a Palestinian - were sentenced to six years and seven and a half years, respectively. The fourth defendant, Djamel Moustfa, an Algerian, was convicted of the less serious crime of supporting the group and violating Germany's weapons laws. He was sentenced to five years.
In a telephone call between Mr. Zarqawi and Mr. Dhess in 2001, intercepted by authorities, Mr. Dhess said, "I swear to you, sheik, if you ordered me to die, I would do it," according to evidence in the case. During the 55-day trial, however, Mr. Dhess insisted that he had no plans to attack Jewish facilities. "I hate the Israeli system," he testified. "But I don't hate the Jews as Jews." Lawyers for Mr. Dhess attacked Mr. Abdullah's credibility, saying he was a "notorious liar."