Three convicts from 11-M remain in prison when the 20th anniversary of the attack in Madrid marks

MADRID, 4 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Three convicted by the National Court for their participation in the attack of March 11, 2004 remain in prison as the 20th anniversary of the jihadist attack marks. These are Jamal Zougam, Otman el Gnaoui and José Emilio Suárez Trashorras, the three with the longest sentences of the 18 who were convicted and with definitive release dates for their release in 2044, since they have to serve 40 years in prison.

As stated in the ruling of the Criminal Chamber of the National Court that judged the attack that left 191 dead and 1,857 injured, consulted by Europa Press, Jamal Zougam was convicted of belonging to an Islamic terrorist organization, storing and manufacturing substances and explosive devices.

Zougam was sentenced to 42,922 years in prison - the maximum allowed by law - for placing the last explosive device in the fourth car of the Cercanías train that left Alcalá de Henares at 7:14 a.m. and exploded at 7:38 a.m. when it was standing at the Santa Eugenia station".

The sentence also mentions its relationship with the cards used in the attack. "At least nine cards from the batch of thirty that arrived at Jamal Zougam's booth were used by members of the group that intervened in the attacks," he says verbatim.

The second terrorist who is still serving a sentence for 11-M 20 years after the attack is Otman el Gnaoui, responsible as the perpetrator of a crime of belonging to an armed gang.

Specifically, the sentence confirmed his participation in the transportation of the explosives from Asturias to the house in Morata de Tajuña (Madrid) where the 13 bombs were assembled that were later placed on the four Cercanías trains.

Otman el Gnaoui was also sentenced to 42,922 years in prison for providing documentation "knowing" that it would be manipulated to hide the identity of the terrorists.

The third of those convicted of 11-M who remains in prison is José Emilio Suárez Trashorras. This former Asturian mini-miner was sentenced to 34,715 years in prison for being in charge of providing the Mina Conchita explosives that were later used in Madrid by the jihadist cell.

According to El Comercio, the 47-year-old man from Aviles requested last Friday to benefit from the euthanasia law as a protest against "the lack of medical and psychological treatment" he receives in the Asturias Penitentiary Center.

Specifically, Trashorras argued his request to "die with dignity" based on his long sentence - of which he must serve at least 40 years - for acting as a cooperator in the attack, although Organic Law 3/2021, of March 24, In force since June 25, 2021, it only allows giving this benefit to people of legal age "with intolerable suffering due to a terminal illness, or due to an irreversible illness with limitations on their physical autonomy, may request euthanasia." to your doctor."

From prison, Trashorras has made "dozens of requests" for prison permits and other benefits but they have not been granted. Some of the reasons that the Ministry of the Interior argues for rejecting his claims are "the seriousness and repercussion" of the events carried out by him and the need to avoid the re-victimization of people harmed by his criminal actions.

In fact, the 11-M ruling states that both Trashorras - convicted of 192 murders, including the death of the police officer who died after the explosion of the suicide bombers in the Leganés apartment - and Jamal Zougam and Otman el Gnaoui must compensate jointly and severally to the victims of the attack perpetrated on March 11, 2004, three days before general elections were held in Spain.

Of the 21 convicted by the National Court, in 2008 the Supreme Court ratified the prison sentences for 17 of them, since it acquitted four and convicted one who had been free, the Asturian Antonio Toro, and who later faced four years in prison for trafficking in explosives.