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| Africa North |
| Morocco: Madrid bombing trial adjourned |
| 2008-12-05 |
| (AKI) - The trial of one of the suspects of the 2004 Madrid bombings has been postponed in Morocco, Spanish media said on Thursday. The trial of Abdelilah Hriz was to begin in the city of Sale, near the capital Rabat, but was immediately adjourned until 18 December after defence counsel requested more time to prepare their case. Morocco does not extradite its citizens and this would be the first time a Moroccan is tried for crimes committed abroad. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to death. Under a 1997 accord between Rabat and Madrid, Hriz can be tried for charges in his country of origin for alleged crimes committed in Spain. An observer from Spain's High Court, or National Court of Spain is due to attend the trial. Thirty-one year-old Hriz is not directly accused of the attacks that killed 191 people, but instead of belonging to a criminal gang which wanted to commit terrorist acts. He was arrested in Morocco in June 2008 after a request by Spanish authorities issued in December 2007. Hriz is considered a suspect because his DNA was found in two locations used by terror suspects who blew themselves up when police arrived to arrest them in April 2004 after the Madrid attacks. Hriz' DNA was found in a comb in an apartment used by the alleged terrorists, in Leganes near the capital Madrid, and on a pair of blood-stained pants at a country house in Morata de Tajuna, outside the capital. He is facing charges in relation to 191 murders and 1,811 counts of attempted murder, as well as supply, trafficking and the possession of explosive materials. |
| Posted by:Fred |