MADRID CONNECTION, THE

Killing 191 persons and injuring almost 2,000 the Madrid bombings in 2004 is considered to be the worst terrorist attack in Europe ever

This year the trial of twenty-nine defendants accused of the Madrid bombings of 11 March, 2004, has begun. Thanks to a law passed in 2002, Spain has become one of the few countries in the world where trials are filmed. As a result, this will be the first mass trial of alleged terrorists linked to Al Qaeda to be captured on film, and it will take place in the city which suffered the bombing.
Two days after the bombs exploded on four local trains in and around Madrid, killing 191 commuters and leaving nearly two thousand injured, the first arrests were made. The discovery of an unexploded bomb and the mobile phone used as the detonator led police investigators quickly to a network of Islamic radicals, many of whom had been under surveillance. Despite threats from Al Qaeda, and warnings from intelligence services after the Casablanca bombings in May 2003, the attack in Spain came as a complete surprise. In a matter of days photographs of the alleged members of the terrorist cell were published in the press – including those of the two who have subsequently emerged as the operational leaders, a Tunisian named Serhane Ben Abdelmajid Fakhet or “El Tunecino”, and a Moroccan named Jamal Ahmidan, or “El Chino.” The bombings in Madrid were soon claimed by – or for – Al Qaeda in a fax sent to a Madrid newspaper, written by Fakhet, and in a video dropped off near a mosque. Before they were tracked down the bombers threatened Spain with further attacks if they did not break off their alliance with the US, and pull their troops out of Iraq. They looked for new targets, and placed a bomb, which failed to explode, on a high speed train link near Madrid.

Facts on The Trial:

29 men on trial
Six charged with 191 counts of murder and 1,755 of attempted murder
One is charged with 192 counts of murder and 1,755 of attempted murder
They face up to 40,000 years in jail each
22 others face lesser terror-linked charges
About 600 witnesses and 100 experts will give evidence
The indictment itself is 100,000 pages long

Justin Webster, director, won a Prix Europa (2005) and an Adolph Grimme Prize (2006) for the documentary “FC Barcelona Confidential” (BBC/TV3/Arte). His investigations for Channel 4 have won awards from the The Foreign Press Association and The Royal Television Society in the UK.

Release year:: 2007

Director:: Justin Webster

Supported by:: The Danish Film Institute and Cuatro, Spain

Co production:: BBC, Televisió de Catalunya, TV 2/DANMARK

Running length:: 90 / 58 minutes

Production company:: JWPproductions

Categories:

Drama

Children & Youth

In Production