8 Terror Suspects Indicted in Spain

Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon indicted eight people on terrorism charges Monday, saying they provided logistical help and false documents to suspects in the Sept. 11 attacks.

The indictment by Spain’s leading terrorism investigator said suspects aided by the eight included Ramzi Binalshibh, an alleged Sept. 11 plotter who has been in U.S. custody since his 2002 capture in Pakistan.

Binalshibh, who allegedly could not get into the United States to participate in the attacks but served as a money man, reportedly is being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

“The group in question provided logistical support to Ramzi Binalshibh and other members of Al Qaeda linked to the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001 in the United States,” Garzon said in the indictment.

The eight indicted suspects were identified as Reda Zerroug, Redouane Zenimi, Samir Mahdjoub, Mohamed Ayat, Hedi Ben Youssef Boudhiba, Khaled Madani, Tahar Ezirouali and Francisco Garcia Gomez.

Ayat and Garcia Gomez were charged with collaboration and the others with membership in a terrorist organization.

Garzon said they had developed “a network of forged documents to provide false identities or fake documents to other members of the network to help them move about, flee or hide or [to help] with their terrorist activities or links with organizations such as Ansar al Islam, under the orders of Abu Musab al Zarqawi.”

The latter is a Jordanian-born militant blamed for spearheading insurgent strikes in Iraq.

Garzon issued an international arrest order for Boudhiba and Ezirouali and ordered Garcia Gomez, a Spaniard, released on $26,000 bail. The others remain jailed in Spain.