 Inmates on Friday beat up a suspected al-Qaida cell leader jailed on charges he helped plot the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States, breaking his jaw, nose and a tooth and injuring one of his eyes, Spanish officials said. Imad Yarkas, 42, a Syrian-born Spaniard, was set upon by other prisoners in the dining hall of a prison in the eastern city of Castellon, said officials at the Interior Ministry department that oversees Spain's prisons. Spanish government press officials did not give their names.
An investigation has been opened because Yarkas, who is being held in solitary confinement, normally takes his meals alone, after other inmates have left the mess hall. One official said some inmates apparently finished breakfast later than usual, and Yarkas began eating before they had left. Some began yelling at him, and when officers started to remove Yarkas from the room for his own safety another group of inmates pounced and punched the alleged al-Qaida member, the official said.
| "He sez he doesn't like you! I don't like you, either!" |
| "You best be careful! I have the death sentence on twelve systems!" |
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