APPEALS HEARD IN GICM AND DHKP-C TERROR TRIALS

UNCLAS BRUSSELS 003164 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: BE MO PREL PTER TU SUBJECT: APPEALS HEARD IN GICM AND DHKP-C TERROR TRIALS REF: A. BRUSSELS 555 ¶B. BRUSSELS 692 ¶1. (U) Five members of the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM),who appealed February 2006 convictions under Belgium's antiterrorism law, have received sentences ranging from forty months to eight years. The February 2006 verdict by a Brussels criminal court found the GICM members guilty of belonging to a terrorist group linked to attacks in Madrid and Casablanca and providing logistical and financial support to the group. The original trial of the five appellants was the first under Belgium's 2003 antiterrorism law. The legislation provides a maximum of five years for belonging to a terrorist organization and a maximum of ten years for actively abetting terrorists. ¶2. (U) In another appeals case, the federal prosecutor urged the court to impose stiffer sentences for members of the Turkish group DHKP-C, who, last February, also were convicted under the 2003 antiterrorism law for membership in a terror organization and for providing material support to a terrorist group. Both sides are presenting final arguments in this case, with the verdict expected soon. (Fehriye Erdal, the most celebrated defendant, escaped from Belgian custody around the time the original verdict was announced.) ¶3. (SBU) Comment: Belgian authorities cite the 2003 antiterrorism law as an effective means to move against suspected terrorists before they can act and to go after supporters of terrorism. In upholding the convictions of the five GICM appellants under the law, Belgian federal authorities believe a positive signal is being sent in support of tougher antiterrorism monitoring and enforcement efforts. Federal authorities have told us they want to assess the ruling of the appeals courts to gauge what they will be able to further prosecute successfully under the 2003 legislation. KOROLOGOS .