Germany: Lebanese sentenced for 15 years in train terrorism case

A Lebanese man was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday for a failed bid to blow up German passenger trains that investigators say would have triggered a bloodbath had the bombs gone off.


The regional superior court in this western city convicted Yusef Mohammed al-Hajj Dib, 24, of multiple counts of attempted murder for his part in an attempt to attack two regional trains packed with travellers in July 2006.


A life sentence in Germany generally amounts to 15 years in prison.


Presiding judge Ottmar Breidling said Dib was guilty of a "thoroughly terrorist act" and dismissed his claim that he had only deposited
a mock-up of a bomb packed in a suitcase in a rail carriage to scare the German public.


"This was a crime for which only the highest penalty under the law can apply," Breidling said.


Dib had told the court during his year-long trial that he only intended to frighten Germans in revenge for the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed in Europe, which sparked protests by Muslims around the world.



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Source: The Local (English)

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