An international human rights group urged Washington to respect the rights of a senior al-Qaida suspect arrested in Pakistan as the American military confirmed he had been transferred to U.S. custody and flown to the United States. Abu Farraj al-Libbi, who is accused of masterminding two assassination attempts against Pakistan's President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, was captured after a shootout with Pakistani agents in the country's northwest on May 2. Col. James Yonts, the U.S. military spokesman in neighboring Afghanistan, said in an e-mail to The Associated Press that al-Libbi was taken from Pakistan to the United States and was not brought to Afghanistan. He gave no other details.
It was unclear what charges, if any, al-Libbi might face in the United States. A Pakistani security official said al-Libbi would be taken to a U.S. detention facility where other al-Qaida suspects are being held. He declined to say whether al-Libbi would be taken to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where many other suspected al-Qaida members are detained. Gitmo is for small fry. I still vote for Diego Garcia, unless there's another, more remote camp. | The security official, who was involved in the deportation process, was not authorized to speak on the record.
Human Rights Watch called on the United States to respect al-Libbi's rights. "He must be treated in accordance with U.S. and international law, not 'disappeared' or tortured like so many other terror suspects," Reed Brody, legal counsel for the group, said.
Fine, we'll give him his choice as to what he wants for his last meal. |
Ummm... What's the phrase I'm looking for?... Oh, yes. "Piss off!" | Some officials have described al-Libbi as al-Qaida's No. 3 leader, after Osama bin Laden and Egyptian surgeon Ayman al-Zawahri. However, he does not appear on the FBI list of the world's most-wanted terrorists and his exact role in al-Qaida is murky. Officials have accused Al-Libbi, who is Libyan, of masterminding two bombings that narrowly missed Musharraf in December 2003 and a suicide attack aimed at Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in July 2004. Neither leader was hurt, but 26 people died in the attacks. |