Spanish judge indicts Osama bin Laden and 34 others

MADRID, Spain — A Spanish judge on Wednesday indicted Osama bin Laden and 34 others on charges of terrorism, including for the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States.

In a near 700-page document, investigative magistrate Baltasar Garzon issued international arrest orders for bin Laden and 17 others. He ratified jailing orders for 11 already in prison in Spain.

Six others, believed to be in Spain, were also indicted, but not all will be jailed, according to the order obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Spain served "as a place or base for resting, preparation, indoctrinating, support and financing" of al-Qaida, Garzon stated in the ruling.

The list of indicted suspects includes Tayssir Alouni, the Al-Jazeera journalist arrested Sept. 8 in Spain, and Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas, who was accused of leading an al-Qaida cell in Spain and arrested in Madrid in November 2001.

Along with Germany, Spain is known to have been an important staging ground for the Sept. 11 attacks. Accused ringleader and suicide pilot Mohamed Atta visited Spain in July 2001 and is believed to have held a key planning meeting with other participants in the northeastern Spanish region of Tarragona.

About 40 Islamic extremist suspects have been arrested in Spain since the attacks, although many were released for lack of evidence.

Garzon has been leading the investigation in Spain into alleged members of al-Qaida and other militant Islamic groups.

Garzon had Chilean dictator August Pinochet arrested in London but failed in 1999 to take him to court. Britain ultimately freed the aging ex-despot on grounds he was unfit to stand trial.