Al Qaeda suspect jailed in Italy

Essid Sami Ben Khemais was jailed for five years

MILAN, Italy -- A Tunisian suspected of heading Osama bin Laden's European logistics operations has been convicted by a court in Milan and jailed for five years.

Essid Sami Ben Khemais was convicted on Friday on charges including supplying false documents, breaking immigration laws, and criminal association with intent to obtain and transport arms, explosives and chemicals.

He was arrested in northern Italy last April as part of a sweeping investigation into bin Laden's al Qaeda network in Europe spearheaded by Italian and German authorities.

Three other Tunisians who were on trial with him -- Belgacem Mohamed Ben Aouadi, Bouchoucha Mokhtar and Charaabi Tarek -- were convicted on the same charges and sentenced to up to five years in prison.

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The four were sentenced following a two-day trial earlier this month.

None of the men were accused of direct involvement in the September 11 terror attacks in the United States. However, investigators say they fabricated false documents that allowed al Qaeda recruits to travel in Europe and elsewhere.

The four were acquitted of actually possessing arms or explosives, but the authorities say recordings of telephone conversations indicated they may have been trying to get hold of cyanide.

Defence lawyers argued the men had no links to bin Laden and were not terrorists.

Until September 11, Italy did not have a law permitting Italian authorities to charge individuals with membership of al Qaeda.

CNN's Senior International Correspondent Sheila MacVicar said: "That has now changed, and as a result of an ongoing investigation in Italy, it is possible the defendants could face new charges which would associate them more directly with al Qaeda."

The men were sentenced under a procedure known as a fast-track trial.

"Consequently the trial was help behind closed doors, there was limited evidence presented, and for agreeing to that, the defendants also received a reduced sentence," MacVicar said.