Suspect says he ignored radicals’ calls for jihad

20 February 2007

MADRID- Madrid train bombing suspect Mouhannad Almallah Dabas denied he was radicalised by one of the alleged leaders of the terrorist attack in 2004.

Almallah is accused of being involved in the Madrid bombings, being a member of a terrorist organisation and indoctrinating people to take part in jihad.

He admitted knowing Serhane Ben Abdelmajid, known as The Tunisian.

He said Serhane, who blew himself up along with six other suspects in a flat near Madrid weeks after the attacks, was “violent not calm”.

Almallah told the court in Madrid Serhane tried to influence him and one of the other accused.

But he said he was not interested.

He said he never heard him mention attacks against Spain.

Almallah Dabas admitted he was a socialist and sympathic towards a radical Islamist group called The Muslim Brotherhood.

But he said the group did not agree with violence and he said extremists were not good Muslims.

Almallah was giving evidence on the fourth day of the trial of 29 people accused of playing a part in the train bombings in which 191 people died and more than 1,800 were injured in 2004.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news