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Swiss trial convicts two Muslims accused of supporting terror on Internet

Associated Press 

A Swiss court on Thursday convicted two Muslims for supporting a criminal organization by running Web sites that posted statements from al-Qaida-linked groups and showed executions.

The main defendant, Moez Garsallaoui, a Tunisian, was sentenced to six months in prison and given an additional 18 months suspended. Malika El Aroud, widow of an al-Qaida suicide bomber, received a six-month prison sentence suspended for three years.

The verdict can be appealed at Switzerland's high court.

The two defendants in Switzerland's first Internet terrorism trial had maintained their innocence when they appeared in a high-security courtroom on the first day of the trial Wednesday.

The two were accused of running Web sites that supported terrorists and gave details of how to make bombs and carry out attacks. They were detained in February 2005 during anti-terror raids in two Swiss cantons, or states, the Federal Criminal Court said.

The suspects, who are now married to each other, were released on bail after their initial detention and had moved to Belgium.