Posted on 09/02/2003 10:10:35 PM PDT by witnesstothefall
The trial opened in Morocco on Monday of 34 suspected Islamic militants, including a French national said to be their leader, accused of involvement in the suicide bomb attacks in Casablanca in May that killed 45 people.
Frenchman Pierre Robert and 33 Moroccan nationals are alleged by the prosecution to have formed "armed and well-organized criminal bands within Salafia Jihadia," the banned Islamic extremist group suspected of being behind the bombings in Casablanca, Morocco's economic capital.
The accused - who face the death penalty if convicted - are charged with criminal conspiracy, conspiracy to undermine state security, premeditated murder and possession of arms and explosives.
In five simultaneous attacks on the evening of May 16, booby-trapped cars exploded outside an international hotel, a Jewish cultural centre and an Italian restaurant, and suicide bombers detonated their bombs at a Spanish club and a disused Jewish cemetery, all in downtown Casablanca.
Security measures had been stepped up around the court in Rabat for the trial of Robert, described by the prosecutor's office as a "crucial link" between militant Islamic cells in Tangiers, Fez, Casablanca and elsewhere in the north African country.
The Salafia Jihadia extremist group, to which all 34 accused are said to have links, has been blamed for the Casablanca attacks, in which 41 people died instantly, including 12 suicide bombers.
Four more people died of their injuries in the days and weeks that followed, the latest victim being a 34-year-old Moroccan who died on August 16.
Most of the victims were Moroccans, with eight foreigners also killed in the blasts: four Spanish, three French and one Italian national. The attacks also left some 100 injured.
Shortly after the criminal court convened in Rabat, the case was adjourned until Friday after 31-year-old Robert, also known as Abou Abderrahmane Yacoubi, refused to be represented by state-appointed lawyer Chawki Ajana.
Speaking in fluent Arabic, Robert said Ajana had asked him to rescind statements made earlier. The Frenchman asked to be represented by Moroccan lawyer Abdelfettah Zahrach, who agreed to act as defense counsel in the case.
The devastating attacks were the first carried out in Morocco, which prides itself on its moderate form of Islam and is positioning itself as a burgeoning democracy on the world political stage.
They caused outrage among the local population, and King Mohammed VI pledged such attacks would never be repeated in Morocco.
On August 19, handing down a verdict that observers said underscored the authorities' new tough stance against Islamic extremism, a court in Casablanca sentenced four Salafia Jihadia activists to death and dozens to heavy jail terms for the attacks.
Commentators here say Robert's testimony could indicate whether a "foreign hand" was involved in the Casablanca bombings.
According to an initial statement given by Robert and widely published in Morocco, he converted to Islam at age 17 and travelled to Turkey, Iran and Pakistan - where he reportedly received training in using weapons and making bombs.
Earlier this month, another Frenchman, Pierric Picard, was acquitted by the same criminal court in Rabat on a charge of "failing to inform authorities of a terrorist plot".
And Danish national Omar Maarouf was one of 10 members of Salafia Jihadia sentenced to death in Casablanca on July 12 for various murders and attacks prior to the Casablanca attacks.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/030825/241/52hqg.html
Probably much less than our own government knew.
The FBI became aware of the idea of Islamic terrorists flying planes into buildings in 1995. They failed to do their job, thanks primarily to the criminal neglect of Louis Freeh.
Watch the program, it's broken into nine parts. The program certainly is damning of FBI policies and politics.
Unfortunately, it barely mentions Bill Clinton at all, lol, like he wasn't the president during this period.
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