Hamed Abderrahmane, a Spanish national freed in February from over two years in detention at the US base at Guantanamo, Cuba, was sentenced on Oct. 5 by a Madrid court to six years in prison for belonging to a "terrorist organization." Abderrahmane denied belonging to al-Qaeda and described himself as a "martyr."
One witness in the case was Syrian Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas, alias Abu Dahdah, who received a 27-year sentence last month for collaborating with al-Qaeda. Abderrahmane, who hails from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in North Africa, was arrested in Pakistan in October 2001. (AFP [2], Oct. 6)
See our last post on the terror crackdown in Spain [3]. We also question whether growing up in a Spanish colonial holding [4] contributed to Abderrahmane's radicalization. See also our last post on al-Qaeda [5].
