The 61-year-old, who had travelled from his home in Tripoli for the trial, was also ordered by the court in Berlin to pay a fine of 10,000 eurosdollars).

The court was told that between 1996 and 1998, he tried through contacts to arrange the importation to Libya of 660 tonnes of rocket fuel and spare parts for military aircraft, to a total estimated value of 270 million dollars.

He admitted the contacts, saying he thought the economic sanctions made it illegal for Germans to procure military equipment but not Libyans.

Three German go-betweens in the case were given suspended sentences after a trial in October 2002. Prosecutors say the plot never got off the ground.

WAR.WIRE