A Paris court on Thursday sentenced three ex-members of the Palestinian group Abu Nidal in absentia to 30 years in prison for a 1988 attack on a Greek cruise ship in which nine people died.
The convictions were the first for the attack in which gunmen on the City of Poros opened fire on their fellow passengers as the ship, carrying hundreds of tourists, was on its way back to Athens after a day trip.
Judge Laurence Turbe-Bion handed down the verdict at the end of the case centred on the three men whose whereabouts are unknown and who investigators say may even be dead.
Three French nationals were killed in the attack, meaning a French court could handle the case.
In the July 11, 1988 attack, at least one militant suddenly opened fire on fellow passengers with a machine pistol, before throwing a grenade and a bomb, killing nine and wounding dozens.
Following the verdict, the court requested fresh arrest warrants for the three, two Lebanese and a Jordanian national.
Around 30 witnesses identified a man in a photo named as Adnan Sojod as the main shooter, 21 years old at the time. Sojod was found guilty of murder, attempted murder and membership of a terrorist group.
Fellow militant Abdul Hamid Amud was jailed for helping him, as was Palestinian-born Jordanian national Samir Mohammed Ahmed Khaidir for organising the attack from Greece, Sweden and Libya.
Abu Nidal’s group, believed to be responsible for a string of attacks which claimed at least 900 lives, notably in Europe, between 1970 and 1988, was for years on the US State Department list of terrorist organisations.
(source: AFP)
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