Egyptian convicted in 2004 Madrid train bombings

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
An Egyptian man who is one of the chief suspects in the 2004 Madrid train bombings was sentenced to 10 years in jail by an Italian court on Monday. A Milan court convicted Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed, 35, and a co-defendant, Yahia Ragheh, 23, of subversive association aimed at international terrorism, a charge that was introduced after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. The younger man was given a five-year term. Italian police bugging Ahmed's apartment listened as he reacted with joy while watching a video of the beheading of American Nicholas Berg by his al-Qaida captors in Iraq, the court heard. "Come nearer, watch closely, this is the politics you have to follow, the politics of the sword," he advised another man as Berg's screams rang out. "Go to hell, enemy of God, kill him, kill him, cut it well, cut off his head," he said.