Three Moroccans detained after the Madrid train bombings were accused in court of 190 murders today, but they denied any links to al-Qaeda and said they were asleep at the time of the attacks.
 |
| Victims of the Madrid bombs |
After a gruelling seven-hour overnight hearing at Madrid's High Court, the three Moroccans were also accused of 1,400 attempted murders and of belonging to a terrorist group.
Two other suspects, both Indians, were accused of cooperating with a terrorist group, court sources said.
All five suspects, arrested two days after the March 11th rail bombings that killed 202 people and wounded more than 1,800, were ordered to be held in solitary confinement after the court hearing.
The attacks on four commuter trains, the bloodiest since the Bali bombings in 2002, have been claimed by a militant Islamic group aligning itself to al Qaeda. All five suspects denied involvement in the strikes or belonging to al-Qaeda.
One of the Moroccans seen as a main suspect - Jamal Zougam - wept in court before returning to pray in his cell, the sources said. Another, Mohamed Bekkali, shouted he was innocent.
"They have all said that when the attack took place on March 11 they were sleeping in their respective homes," a court source said. "They say they don't have any link with al-Qaeda or any terrorist organisation."
There was no immediate explanation for why they were accused of 190 murders. It could relate to the number of bodies identified.
Zougam, his half-brother Mohamed Chaoui and Bekkali were detained at a telephone shop run by Zougam in Madrid.
Investigators have said an unexploded bomb found on one of the trains, containing a mobile phone that would have been used to activate the bomb, provided valuable clues.
The Moroccans are also accused of four "terrorist acts", presumably one for each train bombed, and stealing a vehicle.
As well as cooperating with extremists, the two Indians, Suresh Kumar and Vinay Khohy, were accused of forging documents.
Five other people - four North Africans and a Spaniard - were arrested yesterday as part of the probe. The Spaniard is suspected of stealing the locally made explosives used.
An Algerian man was cleared today of any links to the attack, High Court sources said.