| Why bother with the trial, when the guilty parties are already imprisoned... and have been for four years. |
Eighteen people were charged in the case, including the leader of Al Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) Abdelmalik Droukdel,
... aka Abdel Wadoud, was a regional leader of the GSPC for several years before becoming the group's supremo in 2004 following the death of then-leader Nabil Sahraoui. Under Abdel Wadoud's leadership the GSPC has sought to develop itself from a largely domestic entity into a larger player on the international terror stage. In September 2006 it was announced that the GSPC had joined forces with al-Qaeda and in January 2007 the group officially changed its name to the
Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb....
absent. They have already been convicted in other attacks.
The postponement is due to the absence of the defense of some accused, the judge Omar Benkharchi said.
Besides the 20 deaths, the attack had caused more than 222 maimed. It had been perpetrated simultaneously with another blast against the headquarters of urban security in Bab Ezzouar, a suburb of the capital near the airport.