German court convicts terror suspect

A German court on Thursday convicted a man of helping al-Qaida in Iraq and sentenced him to nearly six years in prison.

The state court in Schleswig found Redouane El Habhab, a 38-year-old German of Moroccan heritage, guilty on six counts of supporting a foreign terrorist organization, and ruled that he also founded a terror group himself.

During his trial, which opened in July, federal prosecutors accused El Habhab of raising money for al-Qaida in Iraq and helping supply fighters for the insurgency there.

"The financial support and (people) smuggling directly benefited al-Qaida in Iraq," presiding judge Matthias Hohmann said as he read the verdict, sentencing El Habhab to five years and nine months in prison.

The defendant showed no reaction as he listened.

Prosecutors also charged that he helped form a terrorist group in Sudan that aimed to set up a training camp, and Hohmann said the court was satisfied that "this group was founded."

During the trial, the defendant acknowledged taking an oath of loyalty to al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden but said he had no direct contact to his organization.

The defense team had sought El Habhab's acquittal, arguing that there was insufficient evidence to support the charges, and said it planned to appeal the verdict.