Verdict just the beginning

The appeals process could drag on for years

By Steve Evans in New York

The 302 guilty verdicts were the culmination of the biggest operation undertaken abroad by the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigations.

The defendants will have years and years of appeal so, in a sense, where is the justice?

Victim's relative Mary Olds

As the decisions of the jury of seven women and five men came in, there was applause in the court in New York.

Some of the families of the victims, though, had very mixed feelings.

They were pleased that what they saw as justice had been done but dismayed that there would now perhaps be long-running appeals and that many of the perpetrators remained free.

Wider conspiracy

One of the relatives, Mary Olds - whose daughter Sherry died in the Nairobi bombing - said: "It seems as if justice has worked for Sherry and all the families, but this is just the beginning. The defendants will have years and years of appeal so, in a sense, where is the justice?"

In addition to the four defendants already convicted, six more suspects await trial

Throughout the trial, the prosecutors painted a picture of a wider conspiracy at the centre of which, they alleged, sat Osama bin Laden, the Saudi Arabian now thought to be in Afghanistan.

The FBI produced an informant who had been close to Bin Laden.

The prosecution also produced phone records showing calls made on a satellite phone linked to Bin Laden in Afghanistan and some of his London representatives as well as to Wadih Al-Hage, one of the people found guilty in of being involved in the conspiracy.

Al-Hage is a naturalised American citizen who came originally from Lebanon. He admitted to working for Osama bin Laden but denied being involved in the embassy bombings.

The prosecution described him as the "facilitator" of the bombings; he described himself as an innocent businessman who had visited Kenya.

The jury agreed with the former view.

The beginning, not the end

The verdicts mark the first convictions in the US of anyone charged with crimes stemming from Bin Laden's activities. He was also indicted in the charges but remains at large despite a reward of $5m for information relating to his arrest.

The verdicts, then, will clearly not be an end of the matter.

Two of the men are liable for the death sentence, with the jury to decide whether that penalty should be imposed. For it to be imposed, the jurors would have to opt for it unanimously.

There are also the appeals plus the trials of six more people charged in connection the bombings.

On top of that, some of the families of the victims plan lawsuits against the US authorities for what they see as the lack of security at the two embassies.