Article

2005-05-18 Europe

Masood murder accomplices sentenced in Paris

A French court sentenced four Islamist radicals to up to seven years in jail Tuesday for helping the men who killed Afghan resistance hero Ahmad Shah Masood two days before the September 11, 2001 attacks. The defendants stood accused of providing logistical support to the two Tunisians who, posing as journalists in Afghanistan, detonated a bomb hidden in a camera on September 9, 2001, killing Masood. Investigators traced the fake Belgian passports found on the two Tunisians that killed Masood back to a network run from Belgium by Tarek Maaroufi, who was sentenced to six years in prison in Brussels in 2003. Adel Tebourski, 41, who admitted to belonging to an Islamist group led by one of Masood's two Tunisian assassins, Dahmane Abd al-Sattar, was sentenced to six years in prison. Tebourski reportedly said he exchanged up to 30,000 French francs (4,500 euros, 5,800 dollars) into US currency for Dahmane before the Tunisian left for Afghanistan in May 2000. The court handed Abderahmane Ameroud, a 27-year-old Algerian, a seven-year prison sentence, while Mehrez Azouz, 37, who has dual French and Algerian nationality, was sent to jail for five years. Youssef el-Aouni, a 31-year-old Frenchman, was sentenced to two years in prison.

All four stood accused of criminal association in relation with a terrorist enterprise, and faced a maximum of 10 years in prison. Khellaf Hammam, 37, who was not implicated in the Masood affair, was sentenced to two years in prison for organizing paramilitary boot camps aimed at selecting recruits to go to Afghanistan. The training was alleged to have taken place in the Fontainebleau forest south of Paris, the coastal Normandy region and in the French Alps.

"France, please pick up the white courtesy phone. Courtesy phone, France."

Two other defendants - Ibrahim Keita, 38, and Azdine Sayeh, 32 - were acquitted. An eighth man linked to the group, who stands accused of living illegally in France and faces a lesser punishment, was to be tried separately after ~~theatrically clutching his chest~~ falling ill at the start of the trial.

This article starring:
ABDURAHMANE AMERUD	al-Qaeda
ADEL TEBURSKI	al-Qaeda
AZDINE SAIEH	al-Qaeda
DAHMANE ABD AL SATTAR	al-Qaeda
IBRAHIM KEITA	al-Qaeda
KHELLAF HAMAM	al-Qaeda
MEHREZ AZUZ	al-Qaeda
TAREK MAARUFI	al-Qaeda
YUSEF EL AUNI	al-Qaeda

Posted by Seafarious 2005-05-18 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Not a Jean-Pierre or Claude or Hercule in the lot. Who'da thunk it?

Posted by .com 2005-05-18 05:03|| 2005-05-18 05:03|| Front Page Top

#2 Fake Belgian passports? I remember when people (presumably not very nice people, to be sure) were leaping over the counters at the Commune town halls, and scooping up piles of the real thing -- numbered blank passports were kept, unsecured, at each one so that the residents wouldn't have to go all the way to Brussels when they needed a new one. This younger generation is too lazy even to leap Belgian counters? For shame!

Posted by trailing wife 2005-05-18 07:02|| 2005-05-18 07:02|| Front Page Top

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