[JURIST] Spain's highest court of appeal said Thursday that 25 appeals have been filed against verdicts handed down against convicted participants in the 2004 Madrid train bombings [JURIST news archive], both from defendants and from victims, and that it expects to receive more appeals within the next few days. In November 2007, victims vowed to appeal [JURIST report] after a Spanish court acquitted seven of 28 co-defendants accused of participating in the attacks, including alleged mastermind Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed [CBC profile]. Three defendants were convicted of murder [JURIST report] and 18 others were found guilty of lesser charges. The three men convicted of murder - Jamel Zougam, Otman el Ghanoui, and Emilio Trashorras - each received sentences of up to 40,000 years imprisonment but under Spanish law can only serve a maximum of 40 years each. The judge also ordered compensation [JURIST report] to be paid for the victims in amounts up to 1.5 million euro.

In all, 28 co-defendants [BBC backgrounder] were charged in Spain with 192 counts of murder and upwards of 1,800 counts of attempted murder related to the March 11, 2004 bombings, which killed 191 people and injured almost 2000 more. The defendants have all protested their innocence and condemned the attacks. AFP has more.