German court convicts "Zarqawi team" for bomb plans

[ECH1969]

DUESSELDORF, Germany, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Four Arab men accused of planning to bomb Jewish targets in Germany on the orders of militant Islamist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi were found guilty on Wednesday at the end of a marathon trial.

"In this case, Abu Musad al-Zarqawi should also be sitting on the defendants' bench," Judge Ottmar Breidling told the court in his explanation of the verdict.

Evidence in the trial, which started in February 2004, included wiretapped conversations in which Jordanian militant Zarqawi discussed with group members the state of preparations for the attacks, using codewords such as "honey" and "medicine" to refer to explosives.

"I swear to you, Sheikh, I swear that if you ordered me to die, I would do it," Dhess allegedly told Zarqawi in one of the intercepted conversations in October 2001.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L2689339.htm

[ECH1969]

1. A question I have for anyone from Germany

These guys were given 5 to 8 years in jail for plotting suicide attacks, does Germany have new legislation on the books regarding terrorism, or are they sentenced within the offences currently laid down in the law like conspiracy to commit murder.

In my home state I would be lucky to get 10 years for being found with pot.

[reorg]

2. they were sentenced for membership in a terrorist organisation

§ 129 a in the German penal code (StGB), which carries a minimum sentence of 1, maximum 10 years in prison.

This anti-terror legislation is not new, I believe it was introduced in the seventies in the course of the fight against the Red Army Faction (RAF). What has been updated after 9/11 is that it is now punishable to support or being a member of a terrorist organisation outside of Germany, too, whereas previously the penal code only dealt with organisations active on German territory.

As regards being found with pot, it largely depends on the quantity. If the amount is likely to be used for your own consumption, they may harrass you some, but will not bring you to court. I am living in a rather conservative town and had four large plants ready for harvest in front of my house some years ago. Someone notified the police, they came and destroyed the plants, but nothing else happened.

You can imagine that most people in Germany consider the draconian sentences that you can get in the US even for minor drug offenses rather harsh, if not insane.

[Kellanved]

3. Germany has terrorism legislation, old and new

They were convicted on the basis of §129 StGB: membership in a terroristic organization, which carries a maximal penalty of ten years (+ loss of certain rights, like running for a public office) in prison. That particular law was revised recently, but in their case the old one wouldn't have made a difference.