KEY POINTS:
MADRID - One of the men accused of masterminding the Madrid train bombings condemned the blasts that killed 191 people as a Spanish court opened a trial into Europe's deadliest al Qaeda-related attack today.
Lawyers and victims packed into the courtroom to hear evidence from 20 Arab men and nine Spaniards facing charges from terrorist murder to stealing dynamite from mines in northern Spain to sell to the bombers, often in exchange for drugs.
Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed is accused of being one of the masterminds behind the attacks that ripped apart four commuter trains like tin cans early on March 11, 2004.
"Obviously I condemn the attacks unconditionally and completely. That is my very clear and absolute conviction," said Ahmed, who is appealing an Italian court ruling that convicted him of belonging to a terrorist organisation last year.
Ahmed, known as "Mohamed the Egyptian", denied having had any links with al Qaeda or any Islamist group on Thursday.
"Thanks to God I am a Muslim but I practice my religion in a normal way, not an extremist way," said Ahmed, dressed in jeans and a white jacket and speaking through a translator.
The Spanish state prosecutor has charged Ahmed with inciting people to carry out the Madrid bombings -- which he denies -- and asked for him to be sentenced to more than 38,000 years in jail. The maximum anybody can serve in Spain is 40 years.
Ahmed, who earlier refused to answer questions from prosecutors, is one of four men the state attorney says heeded a call by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in 2003 for people to attack countries that backed the US-led war in Iraq.
Another two are due to take the stand after Ahmed while the fourth was one of seven main suspects who blew themselves up in an apartment block weeks after the Madrid attacks. Ahmed denied knowing the other three suspected ideologues.
Psychological strain
More than 2,000 people were injured by the bombs which were stuffed into sports bags and set off by mobile phones. Many of them are still in treatment and have never returned to work.
Several victims and relations of people killed in 2004 were in court on Thursday and a team of psychologists and doctors were on hand to help them deal with the stress of seeing the 29 accused file into the courtroom.
The suspects who had been in custody awaiting trial sat in a bullet-proof glass box as a clerk read out their names. The other 11 sat in open court. They have all pleaded not guilty.
The next man to take the stand will be Youssef Belhadj, believed to be the man who appeared on a video claiming the March 11 attacks were revenge for Spain's support for the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Three days after the bombs, Spain held general elections and voted out the conservative Popular Party (PP), a close US ally which initially blamed the attacks on Basque separatists ETA.
The new Socialist government quickly fulfilled a pledge to pull Spanish troops out of Iraq.
After questioning the accused, the court will hear evidence from more than 600 witnesses and 100 experts.
The case, which was adjourned late on Thursday, is expected to last until July when the three-judge panel will retire to consider the evidence. The verdicts and any sentences are not expected until at least October.
- REUTERS
