Suspected Madrid bombings ringleader ignores prosecutors

A Moroccan suspected of being the man who claimed responsibility for the 2004 Madrid terror bombings refused to answer prosecution questions today.

Prosecutors claim Mr Youssef Belhadj is the man seen in a video found near a Madrid mosque two days after the train bombings.

The man in the video says the attacks – which killed 191 people and injured more than 1,800 – were revenge for the presence of Spanish troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and spoke on behalf of Muslim militants.

Mr Belhadj, 30, told the three-judge panel that he would only answer questions from his defence lawyer, as is his right under Spanish law.

Egyptian suspect Mr Rabei Osman, also accused of being a mastermind of the attacks, yesterday refused to answer prosecutors’ questions, but under questioning from his defence lawyer denied involvement and condemned the attacks.

Dressed in jeans and a black jacket, Mr Belhadj sat back in his chair while state prosecutor Olga Sanchez asked him if he went to Madrid in February 2004 to give the bombers last-minute instructions about the attack, as Spanish investigators allege.

She asked if had chosen the date of the attack, another assertion of Spanish investigators, whether he was involved in jihad, or holy war, and whether he had ever gone to training camps in Afghanistan or received training about detonating explosives with remote controls.

In the video claiming responsibility, the hooded person claims to be a spokesman for al-Qaida in Europe.

Spanish investigators have concluded the Madrid attack was inspired by al Qaida, but that the bombing cell had no direct links to Osama bin Laden’s group and received no financing or logistical support from al-Qaida.