German Court Jails Three Men For Aiding Al Qaeda

A German court jailed three Middle Eastern men on Wednesday for supporting al Qaeda plots to carry out suicide attacks and attempting to raise militant funds through dozens of false life insurance claims. Ibrahim Mohamed Khalil, a 32-year-old who German authorities believe is Syrian, was sentenced to seven years in prison for membership of a terrorist organisation and attempted insurance fraud.

Yasser Abu Shaweesh and his brother Ismael Abu Shaweesh were given lighter sentences of six years and 3-1/2 years respectively after being convicted of the same offences. The two men, described by German authorities as stateless Palestinians, are also in their early thirties.

The three men, who denied the charges, were arrested in 2005 after police carried out a large-scale surveillance operation at their homes.

Prosecutors said Yasser Abu Shaweesh, the elder of the Palestinian brothers, had agreed to help raise funds and ultimately carry out a suicide attack.

He was accused of taking out 10 life assurance policies worth at least 1.3 million euros ($1.92 million) and applying for 23 others worth at least 3 million euros.

Prosecutors say Khalil was a senior al Qaeda figure with contacts to the leadership including Osama bin Laden, and was responsible for money, logistics and recruiting new members for suicide attacks in Europe.

They believe he was trained in al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan before the Sept. 11 attacks and later fought against U.S. troops there between October 2001 and July 2002.

Prosecutors also said Khalil sought to acquire unspecified radioactive material -- which could have been used in a "dirty bomb" -- from Luxembourg, but did not succeed.