2008 Woodie Awards
First 9/11 Co-Conspirator, Imad Yarkas, Convicted In Spain
Eighteen men were convicted of conspiring and one man for involvement in the 9/11 attacks.
Jean Bernard Chery
Issue date: 10/7/05 Section: News
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Spain convicted a Syrian born immigrant in connection with the deadly September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.
Fifteen days after the fourth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania, a Spanish court convicted eighteen men for conspiring and aiding Al Qaeda in the September 11 attacks, and for fraud, membership in terrorist groups, possession of illegal weapons, and other charges.
Among those convicted is a Syrian, Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas, 41, also known as Abu Dahdah. He was the leader of an Al Qaeda Spanish cell operated in Madrid. Yarkas was sentenced to spend 27 years in prison, short of the 74,337 years sought by prosecutors. Of the 27 years, he received 15 for helping to plan the attacks and 12 for leading the Al Qaeda cell.
Prosecutors believe that he organized "a meeting in northern Spain in July 2001 during which final preparations for the Sept. 11 attacks are thought to have been made." Also "According to the prosecution," reported the New York Times, "[The meeting] was attended by Mohammed Atta, the lead hijacker on Sept. 11, and Ramzi bin al-Shibh, a high-ranking member of Al Qaeda suspected of playing a central role in organizing the attacks."
Based on this information, prosecutors had asked the three-judge panel to find Yarkas guilty of murdering nearly 3,000 people who died in the September 11 attacks. This is the reason why they sought a 74,337-year sentenced for Yarkas-approximately 25 years for each victim of the Sept. 11 attacks-but the judges found him guilty on a lesser charge, which is "criminal formation" of the attacks, that is, the court believed that he knew about the attacks and helped organized it but did not directly kill 3,000 people.
Yarkas was the only one convicted for involvement in the September 11 attacks. Jacobo Tejeira Casanova, a lawyer for Yarkas, said he will advise his client to appeal the verdict, but also said that his client would not bother appealing the court's decision because he has no faith in the Spanish legal system. In an interview after the verdict, the lawyer maintained Mr. Yarkas' innocence. "This man has not committed any crime," he shouted to reporters outside the court.
Fifteen days after the fourth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania, a Spanish court convicted eighteen men for conspiring and aiding Al Qaeda in the September 11 attacks, and for fraud, membership in terrorist groups, possession of illegal weapons, and other charges.
Among those convicted is a Syrian, Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas, 41, also known as Abu Dahdah. He was the leader of an Al Qaeda Spanish cell operated in Madrid. Yarkas was sentenced to spend 27 years in prison, short of the 74,337 years sought by prosecutors. Of the 27 years, he received 15 for helping to plan the attacks and 12 for leading the Al Qaeda cell.
Prosecutors believe that he organized "a meeting in northern Spain in July 2001 during which final preparations for the Sept. 11 attacks are thought to have been made." Also "According to the prosecution," reported the New York Times, "[The meeting] was attended by Mohammed Atta, the lead hijacker on Sept. 11, and Ramzi bin al-Shibh, a high-ranking member of Al Qaeda suspected of playing a central role in organizing the attacks."
Based on this information, prosecutors had asked the three-judge panel to find Yarkas guilty of murdering nearly 3,000 people who died in the September 11 attacks. This is the reason why they sought a 74,337-year sentenced for Yarkas-approximately 25 years for each victim of the Sept. 11 attacks-but the judges found him guilty on a lesser charge, which is "criminal formation" of the attacks, that is, the court believed that he knew about the attacks and helped organized it but did not directly kill 3,000 people.
Yarkas was the only one convicted for involvement in the September 11 attacks. Jacobo Tejeira Casanova, a lawyer for Yarkas, said he will advise his client to appeal the verdict, but also said that his client would not bother appealing the court's decision because he has no faith in the Spanish legal system. In an interview after the verdict, the lawyer maintained Mr. Yarkas' innocence. "This man has not committed any crime," he shouted to reporters outside the court.