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Britain
Asswad Accused of U.S. Terror Camp Plot
2005-08-08
A suspected Islamic militant deported to Britain was arrested Sunday on a U.S. warrant accusing him of conspiring to organize a training camp in Oregon to prepare jihad fighters in Afghanistan, police said. The arrest of Haroon Rashid al-Aswat, a British citizen of Indian descent, comes as British prosecutors said they would consider treason charges against any Islamic extremists who express support for terrorism. The U.S. warrant accuses Aswat of conspiring with others between October 1999 and April 2000 to set up a camp in Bly, Ore., aimed at training and equipping individuals to "fight jihad in Afghanistan," police said in a statement. Aswat, 30, had been detained in Zambia since July 20, where he was questioned about 20 phone calls reportedly made on his South African cell phone with some of the bombers responsible for the July 7 transit attacks in London that killed 52 people and the four bombers. British newspaper reports quoting intelligence sources there have in recent days played down the possibility Aswat masterminded the London bombings. He was deported Sunday to Britain, said Zambian Home Affairs Secretary Peter Mumba.

Aswat is one of two associates of the Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri who are referred to but not named or charged in a 2002 indictment issued by a federal grand jury in Seattle against a Muslim convert from the area, officials have said. The other is Oussama Kassir, a Lebanese-born Swede, who was convicted of weapons violations in Sweden in 2003. Aswat and Kassir "inspected the proposed jihad training camp at the Bly property ... and they and others participated in firearms training and viewed a video recording on the subject of improvised poisons" in November and December 1999, the indictment said. Under U.S. law, the United States has 60 days to secure an indictment against Aswat, now that he has been arrested on provisional warrant.
Posted by:Fred

#3  Senior District Judge Timothy Workman barred journalists from identifying the cleric to avoid prejudicing a separate trial the cleric faces in Britain. That'll be hook boy then. There's been much downplaying of purdymouth's involvement in the 7/7 & 21/7 attacks - wonder why. Hope we gets him first.
Posted by: Howard UK   2005-08-08 09:20  

#2  Militant Wanted in U.S. Appears in British Court
LONDON (AP) - A suspected Islamic militant accused of organizing a terror training camp in Oregon appeared in a British court Monday after the U.S. requested his extradition. A judge ordered that Haroon Rashid Aswat, a 30-year-old British citizen, be held until Thursday, when the case will resume at a central London court.

Aswat appeared at the Bow Street Magistrates Court in a special sitting near southeast London's high-security Belmarsh prison a day after he was deported from Zambia, where he was detained in connection with the London bombings.
He faces questions about 20 phone calls reportedly made on his South African cell phone to some of the bombers responsible for the July 7 suicide attacks that killed 56 people, including the four bombers. But the extradition hearing was based on accusations he tried to set up a camp in Bly, Ore., in 1999-2000 to provide training in weapons, hand-to-hand combat and martial arts for people aiming to fight in Afghanistan.
Aswat's lawyer, Hossein Zahir, indicated his client would challenge the extradition. "He wishes to stress that he has nothing to hide," Zahir told the court. "He denies any suggestion that he's a terrorist or engaged in any terrorist activity." Zahir said his client was surprised the allegations were being made five years since the alleged incidents.
Aswat, who appeared in court wearing a black robe over a light brown shirt, spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and to say he would contest the extradition. Prosecutor Hugo Keith, representing the U.S. authorities, said Aswat flew to New York on Nov. 26, 1999, before taking a bus to Seattle in order to help set up the camp in nearby Oregon.
Keith told the court that Aswat had been sent to the United States by a prominent British-based Islamic cleric also wanted by the American authorities. Senior District Judge Timothy Workman barred journalists from identifying the cleric to avoid prejudicing a separate trial the cleric faces in Britain.


Posted by: Steve   2005-08-08 09:11  

#1  He shure does have a purdy mouth.



What's your name purdy mouth?
Posted by: bigjim-ky   2005-08-08 01:40  

00:00