Overview

Othman El Gnaoui is a Moroccan convicted of being a perpetrator of the March 11, 2004, train bombings in Madrid, Spain, which killed 191 people and injured more than 1,800. “Spain Train Bombings Fast Facts,” CNN, March 5, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/04/world/europe/spain-train-bombings-fast-facts/index.html; Paul Hamilos, “Mass murderers jailed for 40 years as judge delivers verdicts on Spain’s 9/11,” Guardian (London), November 1, 2007, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/nov/01/spain.international. El Gnaoui, believed to be second-in-command to the plot leader Jamal Ahmidan (also known as “El Chino”), was found guilty of transporting the explosives used in the attack and planting at least one of the bombs. Fiona Govan, “Profiles: Madrid train bombers,” Telegraph (London), October 31, 2007, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1567965/Profiles-Madrid-train-bombers.html; “Integración o pertenencia a organización terrorista,” El Mundo (Madrid), accessed October 3, 2017, http://www.elmundo.es/documentos/2004/03/espana/atentados11m/juicio/procesados/banda_armada_gnaoui.html; Paul Hamilos, “Mass murderers jailed for 40 years as judge delivers verdicts on Spain’s 9/11,” Guardian (London), November 1, 2007, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/nov/01/spain.international. In October 2007, El Gnaoui was convicted of 191 counts of murder by Spain’s National Court and sentenced to 42,924 years in prison, but will only serve 40, the maximum sentence that can be served under Spanish law. Paul Hamilos, “Mass murderers jailed for 40 years as judge delivers verdicts on Spain’s 9/11,” Guardian (London), November 1, 2007, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/nov/01/spain.international; José Manuel Romero and José Yoldi, “El tribunal culpa a una célula islamista del 11-M, descarta a ETA y desmonta todos los bulos amaparados por el PP,” El País (Madrid), October 31, 2007, https://elpais.com/elpais/2007/10/31/actualidad/1193822223_850215.html; Victoria Burnett, “3 get heavy sentences in Madrid train bombings,” New York Times, October 31, 2007, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/31/world/europe/31iht-spain.3.8131507.html.

El Gnaoui was born in Tétouan, Morocco, and at some point moved to Spain.“Integración o pertenencia a organización terrorista,” El Mundo (Madrid), accessed October 3, 2017, http://www.elmundo.es/documentos/2004/03/espana/atentados11m/juicio/procesados/banda_armada_gnaoui.html. He reportedly worked as a mason before his arrest in 2004. El Gnaoui first came to the attention of authorities for drug trafficking, after which police began tapping his mobile phone.Paul Hamilos, “Mass murderers jailed for 40 years as judge delivers verdicts on Spain’s 9/11,” Guardian (London), November 1, 2007, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/nov/01/spain.international; “Integración o pertenencia a organización terrorista,” El Mundo (Madrid), accessed October 3, 2017, http://www.elmundo.es/documentos/2004/03/espana/atentados11m/juicio/procesados/banda_armada_gnaoui.html. Referring to these recorded conversations after his arrest, authorities discovered that El Gnaoui had communicated with other terrorists and members of the plot in the weeks before the Madrid attacks. He was believed to have met with Shazad Ali Gutjar, a Pakistani man with links to al-Qaeda accused of plotting an attack in Barcelona, and was also believed to have had prior contact with included Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas (alias Abu Dahdah), a Spaniard prosecuted for his involvement in the 9/11 attacks.Paloma D. Sotero, “La abogada de El Gnaoui: ‘Estuvo en lugar inadecuado con personas inadecuadas,’” El Mundo (Madrid), June 27, 2007, http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2007/06/27/espana/1182940015.html.
Al Goodman, “Accused ‘planned skyscraper attack,’” CNN, March 5, 2007,  http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/03/05/spain.terror/index.html; “Otman el Gnaoui: Estuvo en Chinchón pero faltan indicios,” El País (Madrid), April 12, 2006, https://elpais.com/diario/2006/04/12/espana/1144792813_850215.html. El Gnaoui spent most of the month of February 2004 at the house in Madrid where Ahmidan was living and where the bombs were constructed, although he later claimed that he had simply been hired to refurbish the estate during that time.“Madrid bombing suspects,” BBC News, March 10, 2005, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3560603.stm; Paloma D. Sotero, “La abogada de El Gnaoui: ‘Estuvo en lugar inadecuado con personas inadecuadas,’” El Mundo (Madrid), June 27, 2007, http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2007/06/27/espana/1182940015.html.

On February 29, Ahmidan called El Gnaoui and instructed him to travel, armed with a weapon, to a meeting in the city of Burgos in northern Spain. It was later determined in court that El Gnaoui transported the explosives used in the attack from northern Spain to Madrid.“Integración o pertenencia a organización terrorista,” El Mundo (Madrid), accessed October 3, 2017, http://www.elmundo.es/documentos/2004/03/espana/atentados11m/juicio/procesados/banda_armada_gnaoui.html; Fiona Govan, “Profiles: Madrid train bombers,” Telegraph (London), October 31, 2007, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1567965/Profiles-Madrid-train-bombers.html. Also in late February, El Gnaoui gave his passport to Ahmidan to use as false identification. On March 10, he told authorities that his passport had been lost. Paloma D. Sotero, “La abogada de El Gnaoui: ‘Estuvo en lugar inadecuado con personas inadecuadas,’” El Mundo (Madrid), June 27, 2007, http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2007/06/27/espana/1182940015.html. Ahmidan reportedly told El Gnaoui to stop coming to the house the week before the attack on March 11.“Otman el Gnaoui: Estuvo en Chinchón pero faltan indicios,” El País (Madrid), April 12, 2006, https://elpais.com/diario/2006/04/12/espana/1144792813_850215.html. 

On March 11, 2004, 10 bombs detonated in a series of coordinated attacks on four commuter trains between 7:36 and 7:40 a.m. on the Cercanías railroad in Madrid, Spain, killing 191 people and injuring more than 1,800. “Spain Train Bombings Fast Facts,” CNN, March 5, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/04/world/europe/spain-train-bombings-fast-facts/index.html; “Auto del 11-M,” El Mundo (Madrid), accessed September 29, 2017, 1, http://www.elmundo.es/documentos/2006/04/11/autohtml/indice.html. The bombs had been placed in backpacks and other small bags and were detonated using mobile phones.“Spain Train Bombings Fast Facts,” CNN, March 5, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/04/world/europe/spain-train-bombings-fast-facts/index.html; “Los autores materiales” El Mundo (Madrid), accessed September 29, 2017, http://www.elmundo.es/documentos/2004/03/espana/atentados11m/juicio/procesados/autores_zougam.html. The Spanish government first attributed the attack to the Basque Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA), but the Basque separatist group denied involvement. Two days after the attack, al-Qaeda released a videotape claiming responsibility and calling the attack revenge for “crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq.”“Spain Train Bombings Fast Facts,” CNN, March 5, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/04/world/europe/spain-train-bombings-fast-facts/index.html; Giles Tremlett, “We bombed Madrid, says al-Qaeda,” Guardian (London), March 13, 2004, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/mar/14/spain.terrorism3. On April 15, another al-Qaeda recording was released in which bin Laden referenced the attack in Madrid. “Auto del 11-M,” El Mundo (Madrid), accessed September 29, 2017, 544, http://www.elmundo.es/documentos/2006/04/11/autohtml/indice.html. However, there was no evidence that al-Qaeda itself helped to finance, plan, or direct the attack.“Spain Train Bombings Fast Facts,” CNN, March 5, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/04/world/europe/spain-train-bombings-fast-facts/index.html; Elizabeth Nash, “Madrid bombers ‘were inspired by Bin Laden address,’” Independent (London), November 7, 2006, https://web.archive.org/web/20080706184144/http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article1961431.ece. In 2006, a two-year Spanish investigation concluded the Madrid attackers were inspired by al-Qaeda but acted on their own without direct orders from the terrorist network.Associated Press, “Madrid bombing probe finds no al-Qaida link,” NBC News, March 9, 2006, https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna11753547. Nonetheless, the principal assailants, including El Gnaoui, were suspected to have been part of a terror cell inspired by al-Qaeda, although seven members of the purported cell––including Ahmidan and others who had been at the house where El Gnaoui spent time in February––evaded prosecution by blowing themselves up in an apartment in Madrid on April 3, 2004.Tom Burridge, “Spain remembers Madrid train bombings 10 years on,” BBC News, March 11, 2014, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26526704; Elizabeth Nash, “Madrid bombers ‘were inspired by Bin Laden address,’” Independent (London), November 7, 2006, https://web.archive.org/web/20080706184144/http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article1961431.ece; Martin Evans, “Terrorism in Spain and were warnings missed?” Telegraph (London), August 17, 2017, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/17/terrorism-spain-warnings-missed/; Craig Whitlock, “21 Convicted in Madrid Bombings,” Washington Post, November 1, 2007, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/31/AR2007103100437.html; José Manuel Romero and José Yoldi, “El tribunal culpa a una célula islamista del 11-M, descarta a ETA y desmonta todos los bulos amaparados por el PP,” El País (Madrid), October 31, 2007, https://elpais.com/elpais/2007/10/31/actualidad/1193822223_850215.html. The court ultimately determined that the seven had been part of a “jihadist cell” and dismissed the possibility that the ETA had been involved.Lisa Abend, “Deep divisions over Madrid verdict,” Christian Science Monitor, November 1, 2007, https://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1101/p07s02-woeu.html. El Gnaoui was arrested in connection with the attack on March 31, on the charge of collaborating with or belonging to a terrorist organization.“Otman el Gnaoui: Estuvo en Chinchón pero faltan indicios,” El País (Madrid), April 12, 2006, https://elpais.com/diario/2006/04/12/espana/1144792813_850215.html. After his arrest, his DNA was found on the clothing of the suspects who committed suicide. “Otman el Gnaoui: Estuvo en Chinchón pero faltan indicios,” El País (Madrid), April 12, 2006, https://elpais.com/diario/2006/04/12/espana/1144792813_850215.html. 

The trial of those accused in the Madrid bombing, including El Gnaoui, began in February of 2007. Al Goodman, “Madrid train bombs: The defendants,” CNN, October 31, 2007, http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/10/31/madrid.defendants/. At the start of the trial, he faced only a single charge of belonging to a terrorist organization and a sentence of 24 years in prison if convicted, However, after his oral hearing in June, the charges levied against him increased drastically to include multiple counts of murder and attempted murder and a sentence of over 38,000 years in prison if convicted. “Otman el Gnaoui: Estuvo en Chinchón pero faltan indicios,” El País (Madrid), April 12, 2006, https://elpais.com/diario/2006/04/12/espana/1144792813_850215.html; Al Goodman, “Madrid train bombs: The defendants,” CNN, October 31, 2007, http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/10/31/madrid.defendants/; “Othman El Gnaout: condenado a 42.924 años de cárcel,” 20 Minutos (Madrid), October 31, 2007, http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/200566/0/Otman/ghanoui/. During his trial, he denied his participation in the attacks, arguing that he had simply been renovating the house where the other terrorists were living, and had not realized that he was transporting explosives from northern Spain to Madrid.Paloma D. Sotero, “La abogada de El Gnaoui: ‘Estuvo en lugar inadecuado con personas inadecuadas,’” El Mundo (Madrid), June 27, 2007, http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2007/06/27/espana/1182940015.html; Mokhtar Atitar, “El Ganout niega haber participado en el trasporte de los explosivos,” 20 Minutos (Madrid), February 20, 2007, http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/204139/0/11-M/juicio/Ganout/.

On October 31, 2007, Spain’s National Court found El Gnaoui guilty of transporting the explosives used in the attack from northern Spain to the house in Madrid where the bombs were constructed.Fiona Govan, “Profiles: Madrid train bombers,” Telegraph (London), October 31, 2007, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1567965/Profiles-Madrid-train-bombers.html; “Integración o pertenencia a organización terrorista,” El Mundo (Madrid), accessed October 3, 2017, http://www.elmundo.es/documentos/2004/03/espana/atentados11m/juicio/procesados/banda_armada_gnaoui.html; Lisa Abend, “Deep divisions over Madrid verdict,” Christian Science Monitor, November 1, 2007, https://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1101/p07s02-woeu.html. The court concluded El Gnaoui was a direct perpetrator of the attack, responsible for placing some of the bombs. The court also concluded he was Ahmidan’s right-hand man.Paul Hamilos, “Mass murderers jailed for 40 years as judge delivers verdicts on Spain’s 9/11,” Guardian (London), November 1, 2007, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/nov/01/spain.international; José Manuel Romero and José Yoldi, “El tribunal culpa a una célula islamista del 11-M, descarta a ETA y desmonta todos los bulos amaparados por el PP,” El País (Madrid), October 31, 2007, https://elpais.com/elpais/2007/10/31/actualidad/1193822223_850215.html. El Gnaoui was convicted of 191 murders, 1,856 attempted murders, four terrorist acts, and a count of document falsification. He was sentenced to 42,924 years in prison.Paul Hamilos, “Mass murderers jailed for 40 years as judge delivers verdicts on Spain’s 9/11,” Guardian (London), November 1, 2007, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/nov/01/spain.international; José Manuel Romero and José Yoldi, “El tribunal culpa a una célula islamista del 11-M, descarta a ETA y desmonta todos los bulos amaparados por el PP,” El País (Madrid), October 31, 2007, https://elpais.com/elpais/2007/10/31/actualidad/1193822223_850215.html. However, he will only serve 40 years, as that is the maximum sentence that can be served under Spanish law.Paul Hamilos, “Mass murderers jailed for 40 years as judge delivers verdicts on Spain’s 9/11,” Guardian (London), November 1, 2007, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/nov/01/spain.international. The court also convicted Moroccan Jamal Zougam for planting at least one bomb alongside El Gnaouie and seven other people—including Ahmidan—who blew themselves up after the attacks as police closed in on them. Zougam was sentenced to 42,922 years. Accused mastermind Rabei Osman had been previously convicted in Milan, Italy, of belonging to a terrorist organization, but the Spanish court acquitted him of direct participation in the train attack.Paul Hamilos, “Mass murderers jailed for 40 years as judge delivers verdicts on Spain’s 9/11,” Guardian (London), November 1, 2007, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/nov/01/spain.international; “Alleged ringleader of Madrid bombings ID’d,” NBC News, October 15, 2004, https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna6258530. While El Gnaoui will serve only 40 years under Spanish law, his full sentence is reportedly one of the longest handed out in the world.Adam Lusher, “The world’s longest prison sentences... and the woman ordered to spend 141,078 years in jail,” Independent (London), April 11, 2016, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/the-world-s-longest-prison-sentences-don-t-worry-you-ll-be-out-in-a-century-or-two-a6974446.html.

El Gnaoui was sent to a prison in A Lama in Pontevedra in northwestern Spain. Authorities placed him under the heaviest restrictions. He received limited outdoor recreational hours and was not permitted to request parole. Authorities classified El Ghanoui as Grade 1, a designation reserved for “extremely dangerous” inmates or those unable to adapt to prison life. In 2019, however, Spanish media reported El Gnaoui had received improved conditions as he had demonstrated good behavior. He received more outside time and was transferred to a cell designated for Grade 2 inmates.Óscar Lopez-Fonseca, “Fifteen years on from the Madrid bombings, where are the perpetrators?,” El Pais (Madrid), March 11, 2019, https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2019/03/11/inenglish/1552291654_033183.html.