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Madrid train bombs: The defendants

  • Story Highlights
  • Verdicts, sentencing in Madrid train bomb trials to be delivered Wednesday
  • All of the 28 defendants are men except for one Spanish woman
  • Among the 28 are 14 Moroccans, nine Spaniards and two Syrians
  • Charges dropped against one defendant; seven suspects died in hideout blast
  • Next Article in World »
From CNN Madrid Bureau Chief Al Goodman
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The accused in the Madrid train bombing are scheduled to hear the verdicts and sentencing on Wednesday morning. All of the 28 defendants are men except for one Spanish woman. All the defendants have pleaded not guilty during the trial.

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Defendants in the Madrid 2004 train bomb trial pictured earlier during proceedings.

There are eight prime defendants who face sentences of about 39,000 years each if convicted on all counts, but the maximum time that could be served under Spanish law is 40 years. Spain has no death penalty and no life-in-prison sentence.

Among the 28 are 14 Moroccans, nine Spaniards (accused of passing explosives to the suspected Islamic terrorists), two Syrians, one Algerian, one Egyptian, and one Lebanese.

Spanish prosecutors issued a document with their revised charges last June after hearing much testimony and evidence during the trial. CNN viewed a copy, which lists the charges below.

The trial started with 29 defendants, but during the proceedings, prosecutors dropped all charges against Brahim Moussaten, a 23-year-old Moroccan. He initially had faced six years in jail if convicted of collaborating with a terrorist group.

Alleged bombers
Jamal Zougam, Moroccan, age 34, faces a 38,960-year sentence if convicted of mass murder of 191 people (at 30 years each) and attempted murder of 1,841 people injured (at 18 years each), causing terrorist damage to four trains (20 years for each of 4 trains) and membership in a terrorist group (12 years).

Abdelmajid Bouchar, Moroccan, age 24, faces a 38,960 years if convicted on all charges of mass murder, attempted mass murder, terrorist damage to trains and membership in a terrorist group. He fled after the attacks but was arrested in Serbia in July 2005 and returned to Spain.

Alleged ideologues
Youssef Belhadj Moroccan, age 31, faces 38,962 years if convicted of mass murder and attempted mass murder charges, terrorist damage to trains and membership in a terrorist group. Arrested in Belgium in 2005 and sent to Spain in 2005.

Hassan El Haski, Moroccan, age 44, faces 38,962 years if convicted of mass murder and attempted mass murder charges, terrorist damage to trains and membership in a terrorist group.

Rabei Osman El Sayed Ahmed, Egyptian, age 36, faces 38,962 years if convicted of mass murder and attempted mass murder charges, terrorist damage to trains and membership in a terrorist group. He is serving a 10-year sentence in Italy on a separate terrorism conviction and will view the Madrid verdict on Wednesday via videophone, a court spokeswoman told CNN. He was present in Madrid during the trial through an agreement with Italian authorities. Wiretapped by Italian authorities in June 2004, he allegedly said, "the entire Madrid operation was mine," but in testimony, during the trial, he denied involvement and also challenged the wiretaps.

Alleged "necessary cooperators"
Prosecutors argued the attacks could not have occurred without the involvement and active cooperation of the following three defendants.

Jose Emilio Suarez Trashorras, Spaniard, age 30, faces 38,976 years if convicted of mass murder and attempted mass murder, terrorist damage to trains, collaborating with a terrorist group, illicit association, supplying and transporting explosives, falsifying license plates and vehicle theft. Prosecutors say he was the leader of a group of Spaniards who obtained explosives and provided them to the alleged Islamic terrorists.

Rafa Zouhier, Moroccan, age 28, faces 38,968 years if convicted of mass murder and attempted mass murder charges, terrorist damage to trains, collaborating with a terrorist group and supplying explosives. Prosecutors allege he was a key link between the Islamic suspects and the Spaniards who allegedly provided the explosives. Charges sharply increased against him last June; until then he had faced just 20 years in prison if convicted.

Othman El Gnaoui, Moroccan, age 32, faces 38,972 years if convicted of mass murder and attempted mass murder charges, terrorist damage to trains, membership in a terrorist group, supplying explosives and document forgery. Charges sharply increased against him last June; until then he had faced just 24 years in prison if convicted.

Islamic suspects charged with terrorist group membership
Mohamed Larbi Ben Sellam, Moroccan, age 30, faces 27 years if convicted of belonging to a terrorist group and conspiracy to commit terrorist assassination.

Rachid Aglif, Moroccan, age 27, faces 21 years if convicted of belonging to a terrorist group and supplying explosives.

Basel Ghalyoun, Syrian, age 27, faces 12 years if convicted of belonging to a terrorist group. Charges sharply reduced against him last June. Until then, he faced some 38,000 years if convicted as a suspected bomber, accused of mass murder. But during the trial, prosecutors did not find evidence and reduced the charges.

Mouhannah Almallah Dabas, Syrian, age 43, faces 12 years if convicted of membership in a terrorist group.

Mohamed Bouharrat, Moroccan, age 28, faces 12 years if convicted of belonging to a terrorist group.

Abdelilah El Fadual El Akil, Moroccan, age 38, faces 12 years if convicted of belonging to a terrorist group.

Saed El Harrak, Moroccan, age 34, faces 12 years if convicted of belonging to a terrorist group.

Fouad El Morabit El Amgar, Moroccan, age 34, faces 12 years if convicted of belonging to a terrorist group.

Other Islamic suspects charged with collaboration with a terrorist group
Hamid Ahmidan, Moroccan, age 29, faces 23.5 years if convicted of collaborating with a terrorist group and drug trafficking.

Mahmoud Slimane Aoun, Lebanese, age 47, faces 13 years if convicted of collaborating with a terrorist group and document forgery.

Nasreddine Bousbaa, Algerian, age 46, faces 11 years if convicted of collaborating with a terrorist group and document forgery.

Mohamed Moussaten, Moroccan, age 23, faces six years if convicted of collaborating with a terrorist group.

Other Spanish suspects in the alleged explosives trafficking ring
Raul Gonzalez Pelaez, Spaniard, age 28, faces eight years if convicted of illicit association and supplying explosives.

Antonio Toro Castro, Spaniard, age 30, faces 23 years if convicted of collaborating with a terrorist group, supplying explosives and illicit association.

Sergio Alvarez Sanchez, Spaniard, age 26, faces four years if convicted of supplying explosives and illicit association.

Ivan Granados Pena, Spaniard, age 25, faces four years if convicted of supplying explosives and illicit association.

Javier Gonzalez Diaz, Spaniard, age 55. State prosecutors last June cleared him of all charges, but he earlier faced eight years if convicted of supplying explosives and illicit association. A private party plaintiff to the case, representing bomb victims, has maintained charges against him, approximately those that the prosecutors earlier had, so he has not yet been fully cleared.

Emilio Llano Alvarez, Spaniard, age 46, faces five years if convicted of supplying explosives.

Antonio Ivan Reis Palacio, Spaniard, age 25, faces four years if convicted of supplying explosives and illicit association.

Carmen Toro Castro, Spaniard, age 26, the only female defendant, faces six years if convicted of supplying explosives and illicit association.

Deceased suspects
In addition to the 28 defendants, prosecutors say seven prime suspects blew themselves up three weeks after the train bombings in 2004 as police closed in on their hideout in the Madrid suburb of Leganes. One police officer died in the assault.

Those seven suspects were Moroccans Jamal Ahmidan, Abdennabi Kounjaa, Mohamed Oulad Akcha and his brother, Rachid Oulad Akcha, and Rifaat Anouar Asrih; Tunisian Serhane Ben Abdelmajid Fakhet and Algerian Allekema Lamari, prosecutors said. E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend

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