German Islam convert regrets attack plan
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Defendant Daniel Schneider is seen at a courtroom in Duesseldorf, |
DUESSELDORF, Germany — The youngest member of an alleged radical Islamic terrorist cell whose plot to attack U.S. targets in Germany was foiled by authorities testified Wednesday he would not repeat his actions.
Daniel Schneider, a 23-year-old German convert to Islam, told the court he was relieved to have been arrested along with three other alleged cell members in 2007 and said that he now believes such an attack would be harmful to Islam.
"Today, I would not make the decision to fight holy war," Schneider said.
Schneider, along with Fritz Gelowicz and Adem Yilmaz, both 29, and Attila Selek, 23, are suspected of operating as a German cell of the radical Islamic Jihad Union. They face charges of plotting bombing attacks in Germany against American citizens and facilities across the country.
In later testimony, Selek also told the Duesseldorf state court he "no longer wanted anything to do with the attacks."
Selek further testified that he had acquired the detonators, but insisted his actual goal had been to become a martyr fighting in Chechnya. He said it did not make sense to start a war in a peaceful country.
Though no pleas are entered under the German trial system, all four men accused in the plot have decided to confess, hoping to mitigate their sentences.
Yilmaz, however, testified Wednesday that the U.S. remained Islam's main enemy. He said that any soldiers who fight Islam needed to be fought, regardless of their nationality.
"Germans, Americans, Turks — they are all the same to me," Yilmaz said. "I don't differentiate."
The four face charges of membership in a terrorist organization, preparing bombing attacks and conspiracy to commit murder and a bombing attack — they face a 10-year maximum sentence if convicted.
Schneider faces an additional charge of attempted murder, which carries a possible life sentence, because he is alleged to have fired a police officer's gun in a tussle during his arrest. No one was injured.