Spanish Supreme Court Acquits 5 Madrid Bombers

Madrid, Spain (AHN) - The Spanish Supreme Court decided on Thursday to acquit five bombers in the 2004 Madrid commuter train blast which killed 191 people and injured 1,800.

An Egyptian, Rabei Osman, was acquitted due to double-jeopardy provisions, he has already been sentenced to an eight-year prison term in Italy. The court said there was insufficient evidence to charge him with mass murder.

The court likewise upheld the acquittal of Basel Ghalyoun, Muhammad Almallah Dabas, Abdelilah el Fadual el Akil and Raul Gonzalez, all of whom had convictions ranging from five to 12 year prison terms.

The sentence of several suspects were reduced, while Antonio Toro was convicted of swapping the explosives used in the attack for drugs and money and sentenced to four years. A second convicted mastermind, Othman el Gnaoui, was cleared of falsification, but was kept in prison for more serious charges.