5 Convicted in Boushicki Trial to Appeal to Norwegian Supreme Court

Five Jews, convicted of espionage or conspiring to commit murder on orders from the Israeli intelligence organization Mossad, are to appeal their sentences to the Norwegian Supreme Court, legal sources here said. A special jury handed out jail terms ranging from one-and-a-half to five years to five of the six defendants in the so-called Boushicki murder trial here this weekend. Three of the defendants, Abraham Gehmer, 36, a former Israeli diplomat, South African-born Sylvia Rafael, 36, and Danish-born Dan Aerbel, 27, were all found guilty of conspiring to murder Moroccan waiter Ahmed Boushicki last summer in Lillehammer in eastern Norway.

Aerbel was sentenced to five years imprisonment, while Gehmer and Rafael, who have admitted entering Norway on false passports, received five-and-a-half year terms. Swedish-born Marianne Gladnikoff, 27, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years imprisonment for being an accomplice to the crime and for carrying out espionage activities, while Zwi Steinberg, 30, was handed a one-year term for handling communications for the liquidation group. A sixth defendant in the case, Michael Dorf, 30, was acquitted.

In its judgement the special jury, consisting of three judges and four laymen, concluded that Mossad was behind the espionage operation and liquidation of Boushicki, believed by the defendants to have been associated with Black September. Attorneys for the five convicted Jews said they would appeal the sentences. They have two weeks in which to file their appeals, which will be considered by the Norwegian Supreme Court.