[HOME]

A rchive Date
[ 07-08-2005 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ Zambia ]

Zambia extradites terror suspect to Britain

Possible link to London bombs unclear; Somali charged over July 21 attacks

Updated: 6:30 a.m. ET Aug. 7, 2005

LUSAKA, Zambia - A Briton suspected of links to

al-Qaida

was deported Sunday to Britain, a senior Zambian official said. Britain sent a plane to collect

Haroon Rashid Aswat

, who was detained in the Zambian capital on July 20, Home Affairs Secretary Peter Mumba said. Aswat boarded the plane at 9 a.m. (3 a.m. ET), he said. No further details were released.

It remains unclear whether Britain suspects Aswat, a British citizen of Indian descent, of involvement in the London bombings. Zambian authorities questioned Aswat about 20 phone calls reportedly made on his South African cell phone with some of the bombers responsible for the July 7 attacks that killed 56 people in London.

British and American investigators have also interrogated Aswat, 31, according to Zambian officials. But, British newspaper reports, citing security sources, have said that investigators don't believe he was linked to the London attacks.

Interpol said last week it had issued an arrest warrant for Aswat on behalf of the United States, which led to his detention.A British police source told Reuters that he will probably be extradited to the United States, where he is wanted over an alleged attempt to set up a militant training camp in Oregon.

Suspect charged with conspiracy to commit murder

The extradition came a day after London police charged suspected July 21 bomber

Yassin Hassan Omar

with conspiracy to murder passengers on the London transport system and possession of an explosive substance. Omar, 24-year-old Somali national, who was arrested in Birmingham on July 26, is the first of the four suspected bombers to be charged in Britain.

Earlier Saturday, Prime Minister

Tony Blair

’s government defended its plans to crack down on extremist Islamic clerics who preach hate, as critics warned the measures could further alienate British Muslims.

Charles Falconer, the lord chancellor, said the deadly attacks in London on July 7 showed the government must act against people “who are encouraging young men who are becoming suicide bombers.” “I think there is a very widespread sense in the country subsequent to July 7th that things have changed. A new balance needs to be struck. It needs to be a lawful balance but it needs to be an effective balance,” he told British Broadcasting Corp. radio.

New anti-terrorism steps

Blair’s government has been trying to build support among political opponents and Muslim leaders for new anti-terrorism legislation since the suspected suicide bombings that killed 56 people, including the four bombers.

The government announced on Friday plans to deport foreign nationals who glorify acts of terror, bar radicals from entering Britain, close mosques linked with extremism, ban certain Islamic groups and, if necessary amend human rights laws. The measures appear to have cracked the spirit of consensus.

Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy warned the crackdown could alienate the law-abiding majority of Britain’s 1.8 million Muslims and inflame tensions. “A fundamental duty, a responsibility on all of us, whether government or nongovernment, is to uphold the rule of law and the safety of the citizen,” he said. “But alongside that, of course, is to uphold civil liberties and the right to free speech. It is getting that balance right that will be very important,” he told BBC radio.

British Muslims concerned

The Islamic Forum Europe, a British Muslim group, warned the measures could jeopardize national unity in Britain.

“If these proposed measures are allowed to see the light of day, they will increase tensions and alienate communities. The measures are counterproductive and will encourage more radicalization,” said forum president, Musleh Faradhi. “Many Muslims will perceive our prime minister as playing into the hands of the terrorists.”

He criticized the government’s plans to ban

Hizb ut-Tahrir

- the radical Islamic group that calls for the formation of an Islamic caliphate and is banned in several central Asian countries. Supporters insist it is a nonviolent group persecuted by corrupt governments. “Proscribing it will be counterproductive,” said Faradhi. “It will give a green light to despotic leaders in the Muslim world to silence political dissenters.”

Three appear in court

Meanwhile, three men appeared in court Saturday to face charges they did not disclose information about the whereabouts of a suspect in the failed July 21 London bomb attacks.

The Metropolitan Police said

Shadi Sami Abdel Gadir

, 22,

Omar Almagboul

, 20, and

Mohamed Kabashi

, 23, were charged under the Terrorism Act with withholding information that they “knew or believed might be of material assistance in securing the apprehension, prosecution or conviction” of suspected bomber

Hamdi Issac

, who is being held in Rome. The court ordered them to remain in custody until their next hearing Thursday.

Three other people already face similar charges, including Issac’s wife and sister-in-law.

World Fact Book

(CIA

)

]

Cross-Indexed:

U.S. Pushes Anti-terrorism In Africa

Some pages may require Adobe Acrobat Reader^™