在线国产一区二区_成人黄色片在线观看_国产成人免费_日韩精品免费在线视频_亚洲精品美女久久_欧美一级免费在线观看

  Home>News Center>World
         
 

US: Cleric tried to start terror camp
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-05-28 02:28

Abu Hamza al-Masri, the fiery Muslim cleric whose shuttered London mosque was linked to Zacarias Moussaoui and shoe bomber Richard Reid, was arrested Thursday in Britain, accused in a U.S. indictment of trying to establish a terrorist training camp in Oregon and providing aid to al-Qaida, officials said.

Al-Masri, 47, also is charged in the 11-count indictment with hostage-taking and conspiracy in connection with a December 1998 incident that killed four tourists in Yemen.



A file photograph dated February 7, 2003 shows Muslim cleric Sheikh Abu Hamza leading prayers at the North London Mosque at Finsbury Park. British police arrested Hamza on an extradition warrant from the United States, a spokeswoman said on May 27, 2004. [Reuters]

"Those who support our terrorist enemies anywhere in the world must know that we will not rest until the threat they pose is eradicated," U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft said in announcing the arrest.

Al-Masri, whose real name is Mustafa Kamel Mustafa, was arrested at his London home, British authorities said. He was the imam at the Finsbury Park Mosque, which has been linked to Sept. 11 suspect Moussaoui and Reid and was shut down in January 2003 after a police anti-terrorism raid.

Ashcroft said U.S. authorities were seeking his extradition.

Britain, in common with other European Union countries, will not extradite suspects who could face the death penalty; such action is barred under the European Convention on Human Rights. Ashcroft has said extradition requests involving capital crimes should be dealt with on a "case by case" basis.

In the past, the United States has dropped the death penalty in such cases to expedite a prosecution. British Home Secretary David Blunkett said in a radio interview Thursday that an agreement with American officials last year specified that in al-Masri's case, "they will not carry out an execution." There was no immediate confirmation from Ashcroft.

Al-Masri appeared Thursday afternoon before a magistrate at the high-security Belmarsh prison. He shrugged and laughed when asked if he would consent to being extradited, then added, "I don't really think I want to, no."

According to the indictment, al-Masri tried to establish the terrorist camp in Bly, Ore., between October 1999 and early 2000. He was also charged with specifically providing material support to al-Qaida and the Taliban to foment jihad, or holy war, in Afghanistan.

The indictment said Mustafa acted as an intermediary with the terrorists who took 16 tourists hostage in Yemen six years ago, and spoke with the terrorists before and after the incident.

Three British tourists and an Australian visitor were killed when Yemen rescuers were involved in a shootout with the Islamic extremist captors.

If convicted on the charges, he could face the death penalty or life in prison. The indictment, returned last month, was unsealed Thursday.

The arrest came a day after top U.S. law enforcement officials warned that a stream of credible intelligence indicates a major terrorist attack could happen in the summer, and the FBI posted a list of seven wanted al-Qaida operatives.

The Egyptian-born al-Masri is not among the seven wanted figures, but has been the focus of terrorism suspicions for years in Britain.

The suspect's lawyer, Maddrassar Arani, told British Broadcasting Corp. radio that she had spoken to her client, who was being held in a central London police station.

"He was quite calm about it," Arani said. "He said take your time and come down whenever you can."

Anti-terrorist officers also conducted a search of his west London home, police said.

Al-Masri is one of Britain's best known Islamic radicals. He has been fighting deportation by the government. He is also wanted in Yemen on charges of orchestrating terrorism there from Britain.

The suspect, who married a British woman and took British citizenship in 1981, denies any involvement in violence and says he is only a spokesman for political causes.

The fiery preacher with one eye and hooks for hands — lost, he says, fighting Soviet troops in Afghanistan in the 1980s — is a tabloid hate figure in Britain.

Al-Masri has sparked outrage with sermons calling the invasion of Iraq a "war against Islam," claiming the Sept. 11 attacks were a Jewish plot and calling the space shuttle Columbia disaster a "punishment from Allah" because Christian, Jewish and Hindu astronauts were aboard.

The British government revoked al-Masri's British citizenship in April 2003, calling him a threat to the country's interests. He has appealed that decision to a special immigration tribunal and a ruling isn't expected until early next year.

In February in Seattle, a Muslim convert with ties to Hamza, James Ujaama, was sentenced to two years in prison. Ujaama, whose original name was James Ernest Thompson, had pleaded guilty last year to aiding the Taliban.

Ujaama, 38, was arrested in July 2002 and was indicted on two charges: conspiring to set up a terrorist training camp in Bly, a southern Oregon town of 700, and using a firearm to further the conspiracy. He was accused of visiting a ranch in Bly in or around October 1999 and proposing the establishment of a jihad training camp on the property

In April 2003, the government dropped those charges and filed a superseding complaint alleging that Ujaama brought money, computer equipment and a recruit to Taliban officials in Afghanistan.

Prosecutors let him plead guilty in exchange for his cooperation in terrorism investigations. In particular, they wanted to hear what he knew about al-Masri, whose Web site Ujaama once ran.

 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

Unsafe blood collection targeted

 

   
 

Britain berated over Dalai visit

 

   
 

Conference on poverty closes

 

   
 

China pushes for Iraq resolution amendments

 

   
 

Efforts guarantee drug quality in rural areas

 

   
 

Nationwide campaign to save energy

 

   
  Dominican, Haiti floods death toll nears 2,000
   
  Iraq's Shahristani reluctant on PM role
   
  Physicist: Cosmos is shaped like the Eiffel Tower
   
  Spain PM refuses to condemn US on Iraq abuse
   
  Two Koreas end military talks, agree to meet again
   
  Analysts say US threat warning is back-covering
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  News Talk  
  AMERICA, I think you are being FRAMED by your own press and media.  
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 激情综合婷婷 | 亚洲欧美日韩国产 | 国产黄色一区二区 | 91精品国产99久久久久久红楼 | 成人免费在线观看网站 | 欧美一级片在线 | 中国一级黄色 | 成人激情av | 日韩一二区 | 欧美在线不卡 | 久久精品国产免费 | xxxxx黄色| av自拍偷拍| 欧美性视频在线 | 四虎网站 | 成人免费黄色大片 | 理论片中文字幕 | 在线观看91| 日本乱轮视频 | 国产人成一区二区三区影院 | 日韩免费在线观看 | 亚洲黄色小视频 | 黄色免费视频网站 | 动漫av在线 | 男男av| 日韩黄视频 | 亚洲乱码在线 | 久久精品欧美一区 | 久久久蜜桃| 欧美精品网 | 午夜久久久久久 | 在线视频成人 | av毛片在线播放 | 国产精品自拍小视频 | 中文字幕永久免费 | 免费日韩av| 最近中文字幕在线 | 亚洲视频区 | 亚洲精品在线免费 | 国产精品婷婷 | 欧美激情xxx|