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SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - The trial of nine men accused in Australia's largest alleged terrorist conspiracy started Monday, but was dominated by discussion of the undersized courtroom rather than the facts of the case.
The nine Muslims are charged with conspiring between June 2004 and November 2005 to "do acts in preparation for a terrorist" attack. None has entered a plea. If convicted, they could face a maximum penalty of life in prison.
The suspects sat in a glass-walled dock in the courtroom at the New South Wales state Supreme Court while a group of supporters occupied the 30 public seats. More than two dozen lawyers appeared to represent the suspects — so many that Justice Anthony Whealy told some to sit in the otherwise empty jury box.
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