Two years after the start of their trial, the regional high court convicted Ata R., Rafik Y.
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Crowds prepare for papal mass ... H. of attempted conspiracy to commit murder, and membership in the terrorist organization Ansar-al-Islam, an Iraqi militant group linked to al Qaeda. The men received prison sentences ranging from seven and a half to 10 years.
Prosecutors said the men had conspired to assassinate Allawi in a plan hatched just days before his short trip to Berlin in December 2004. His visit to gain a pledge of aid for Iraq after the ousting of Saddam Hussein went off without incident, though not long after, he lost power.
A few weeks before the trip, Ansar-al-Islam had called for Allawi to be killed on a Web site.
Authorities succeeded in foiling the attack, arresting the three men in pre-dawn raids on Dec. 3, 2004. However, they said too little was known about the defendants' plans to charge them with attempted murder.
Leader received longest sentence Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Defendant Ata R. received the highest sentence The chief judge said the trial had shown that R., who received the 10-year sentence, had been an "important and leading member" of Ansar-al-Islam, news agency DPA reported. The trial was told he was known as the "emir of Germany" among the group, emir being an Arabic title for a leader.
"He was in regular, close contact with the most senior cadres of the organization," the judge said.
H. had been a "close associate" of R., and had been intended as R.'s successor if R. had been captured and H. had remained free.
(Deutsche Welle)
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