Seven suspects confess
this is such a murky case
al-Motamar:
Seven suspects, including two Australian sons of a Jemaah Islamiah leader, have confessed to involvement in smuggling weapons to Somalia and collecting money for terrorist attacks, Yemeni officials say.
The group includes Sydney men Abdullah Ayub, 19, Mohammed Ayub, 21, and Marek Samulski, 35.
The Ayub brothers are sons of JI leader Abdul Rahim Ayub, who fled Australia after the Bali bombings. Investigators have linked them to a member of an alleged Sydney terrorist cell who was arrested and charged a year ago.
The men, along with a Briton, a Dane, a Somali and another suspect, allegedly acknowledged during interrogation that they were involved in smuggling weapons to Somalia and collecting money to fund terror attacks, a security official said. He said the suspects also confessed to having connections with Yemenis linked to the al-Qaeda terror network.
The Ayub brothers’ Sydney lawyer, Adam Houda, said his clients had not confessed.
“I don’t know what they’re going to be charged with or if they’re going to be charged at all,” he said last night. “I don’t know anything yet, I have to find out. I’m waiting for a call.”
Mr Houda has previously described allegations that the brothers were involved in smuggling arms or linked to al-Qaeda as ridiculous.
The seven men are expected to stand trial in Yemen, Interior Minister Rashad al-Alimi said on Monday.
Other officials said a search of the Dane’s house found documents and reports linked to al-Qaeda and thousands of US dollars and euros.
The arrests are part of a state security campaign launched last month against members of an al-Qaeda cell. The security official said among more than 12 suspected militants arrested in the campaign, six were believed to be linked to the Sana’a cell.
One of the detainees allegedly confessed that he was assigned to carry out an attack with an explosive-laden car on Sana’a international airport, the security official said.
no charges yet though
SANA’A - Six Western nationals and a Somali man arrested in Yemen in October, on suspicion of links to Al Qaeda, will face trial in the country and will not be transferred to Guantanamo Bay, Yemen’s interior minister said on Monday.‘They will be referred to the court here,’ the minister, Rashad Al Alimi, told reporters after a parliamentary session.
Asked whether the seven men, three Australians, a Briton, a Dane, an unidentified western national and a Somali, would be transferred to Guantanamo Bay, Al Alimi replied, ‘No, they will not be sent anywhere.’ The men were among a group of eight foreigners arrested in Sana’a on October 16 for alleged links to the Al Qaeda terrorist network and for attempted weapons smuggling to Somalia.
A German national was also arrested, but was released on November 2 after Yemeni interrogators said he had not been involved in any illegal activities with the other suspects.
Security sources have told Deutsche Presse-Agentur DPA that the seven Westerners were Muslims who have been studying Arabic at private schools in Sana’a.
Yemeni prosecutors told DPA on Monday the suspects would be sent to a state security court by late November or in early December.
However, the nature of the charges the men will face in court has not been established yet.
Yemen, an impoverished country, on the south-western tip of the Arabian peninsula, has been closely cooperating with the United States in the ‘war on terrorism’ since the 2001 attacks on US cities, and has since put scores of suspected Al Qaeda members on trial.
Also: they meet Aussie authorities
A FEDERAL and state counter-terrorism team has left Yemen after interviewing three Australians jailed on suspicions of links to al-Qa’ida.
Yemeni officials allowed the Australian officers more than an hour to talk to each detainee, Mohammed bin Ayub and Abdullah bin Ayub and Polish-born Marek Samulski, who have been detained for a month without charge.Yemen’s secret police have told the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade they expected to conclude their investigation into Mr Samulski late yesterday. They have twice alerted consular staff to his imminent release, but have continued to hold him.
The Australian detainees were among eight foreigners arrested in the Yemeni capital Sanaa after dawn prayers on October 17. Britain’s MI6 and the CIA are continuing to focus on two of the foreigners, British national Rashid Laskar and a Dane, Kenneth Sorenson, who are accused of being central to plans for an alleged terror conspiracy.
The Australians lived in a unit block with Mr Sorenson and his wife. But Western security officials are sceptical about Yemeni claims that they played a role in helping organise a terror cell.
Mr Samulski studied at the Sanaa Institute of languages and is believed to have worked part-time at the University of Science and Technology, where Mr Laskar also worked.
Mr Samulski’s lawyer, Sydney solicitor Stephen Hopper, said from Sanaa yesterday that he expected the Yemeni Government to complete their investigations on Tuesday. “After investigating the circumstances surrounding my client’s arrest, I have discovered no evidence that would incriminate him under either Australian or Yemeni law,” Mr Hopper said.
“Under Yemeni law, a person may be detained merely because they have, or are suspected to have, information that would relate to another person.
“After discussing this case with an experienced Yemeni lawyer, I have concerns that the process my client is subjected to is unconstitutional and unlawful. Foreign Minister (Alexander) Downer should take advice on this.”
Australian officials were blindsided by the arrests and are still trying to establish whether the trio was doing more in Yemen than continuing their Arabic and Islamic studies. Under Yemeni law, the Public Security Office, which is holding the Australians, does not have to present a case to prosecutors for three months
