Al Qaeda trial
May 9, 2011
A Frankfurt court has handed down a four-and-a-half year prison sentence to 25-year-old German-Syrian dual national, named only as Rami M., for being a member of the al Qaeda terrorist network. Rami M. was accused of being trained by an affiliated terror cell in Pakistan with the aim of participating in terrorist attacks in the name of jihad.
Judge Thomas Sagebiel showed leniency and handed down a milder sentence in exchange for Rami M. providing a comprehensive confession on the first day of the trial. The prosecution had requested a six-year prison term. The confession saw the trial that opened last Thursday close in just three days.
Rami M., who was born in Germany, told the court he had not wanted to fight, but had wanted to help al Qaeda, especially financially by helping to raise funds. Rami M. was arrested by Pakistani security forces in June and extradited to Germany in August. Information he provided led to a security clamp across Germany and the closure of the Bundestag building in November 2010.
Rami M. told the court that he turned to radicalism after suffering discrimination at the hands of German police.
Author: Wilhelmina Lyffyt (AFP, dpa)
Editor: Nicole Goebel