LEBANON: DEATH SENTENCE COMMUTED

a court in Beirut sentenced Lebanese national Youssef al-Hajj Dib to death in absentia for his involvement in an attempt to blow up two trains in Germany in July 2006. This sentence was later commuted to life in prison. Hajj Dib’s trial begins in Dusseldorf, Germany the next day. Hajj Dib’s alleged co-conspirator, Jihad Hamad, was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment and three other suspects on trial in the case were found not guilty and released. Hamad admitted in court that he and Hajj Dib bought two gas canisters, wires and two bags to place on the trains to protest against the caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed originally published in a Danish newspaper. The two men allegedly left bombs on trains in Cologne on July 31, 2006, however they were not assembled properly and did not explode.