Denmark: Three convicted in terror case

A Danish court on Friday convicted a Palestinian immigrant, an Iraqi Kurd and a Danish convert to Islam of plotting a bomb attack in one of Denmark's most high-profile terror cases.

A fourth defendant was acquitted in the case, which stemmed from a 2006 anti-terror sweep prompted by tips from an informant who infiltrated the group.

A jury in the Eastern High Court in Copenhagen handed down guilty verdicts to Mohammad Zaher, 34, Ahmad Khaldhadi, 22, and Abdallah Andersen, 32. Riad Anwer Daabas, 19, was acquitted.

Zaher and Khaldhadi, described as the two most active, were each sentenced to 11 years in prison by a three-judge panel, while Andersen was given a four-year sentence.

(more on the trial and sentencing can be found on Western Resistance)

Khaldhahi told the court that he fears he will punished twice.  He fears that he will be sent to Iraq to sit out his sentence there and that he will end up in Abu Ghraib prison.

If there were explosives in the apartments of the three men sentenced Friday, then their families will be kicked out, says Lars Andersen, manager of the Odense Cooperative Residence Association (Odense Andelsboligforening, OAB). Andersen also says that his associaiton can't inspect residences and therefore preempt similar situations in the future.

According to imam Abu Hassan, who knows the families from his mosque in Østergade in Odense, kicking out the families would be an injustice.  He barely touched on the topic of the terrorism case in his sermon on Friday.  According to Abu Hassan, the police informant "Lars" played a very big role in the case, setting a trap for the accused and gave them the ideas.  However, he believes the Danish justice system and that nobody is sentenced without evidence.

Source: AP (English), Berlingske Tidende 1, 2, 3 (Danish)

See also: Denmark: Missing evidence in terror trial, Denmark: Terrorism update, Denmark: Mohammed cartoons possible motive for terror

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