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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran | ||
| 2 Australians freed, 2 remain in custody in Lebanon | ||
| 2007-07-04 | ||
Australian boxing champion Ahmed Elomar was released by Lebanese authorities last night after more than a week under interrogation in which he was accused of belonging to a terrorist cell with links to al-Qa'ida. After being freed, Elomar, the national flyweight champion, told The Australian of his ordeal - including being blindfolded and beaten as authorities tried to extract intelligence on Sydney cleric Feiz Mohamed.
Elomar, known in boxing as Trigger, said his detention on suspicion of having ties to terrorists was the most "shocking experience of my life". "I haven't seen daylight for a week and a half, and I'm still lost at the moment, I'm still dizzy," said Elomar, who was arrested on June 21 with three other Australian men by the Lebanese authorities on suspicion of belonging to terrorist cells linked to al-Qa'ida. "They reckon we've got a group or something like that," Elomar said in reference to his connection to the other three Australian men, including Mr Basal. The two other men, Omar Hadba and Ibrahim Sabouh, are still in detention. Elomar, speaking from Abu Samra, in northern Lebanon, said he was asked if he had trained with al-Qa'ida leader Osama bin Laden in the use of weapons. "They asked 'me have you been trained to use weapons'," he said. "They started asking me about bin Laden and names I've never heard of before. And obviously when they do the interrogation, they hit you. I was getting hits from day one to the last day. Like with a stick they hit you. They made me stand up for eight hours straight, and every time I would go to go down they would start whacking into me with this stick. You're blindfolded and handcuffed 24 hours. When they feed you, you're handcuffed to the front not the back, so you can grab your food. But for two days they didn't give me anything, they just interrogated me." He said his interrogators spoke with heavy English accents, but he could never see them from under the blindfold. "You could just see their feet." Elomar said he took his family to Lebanon to buy a piece of land to build a holiday house and check on a business of breeding alpacas in Lebanon that he was trying to develop with Mr Basal. Elomar said he and Mr Basal were arrested at Mr Sabouh's home as they contemplated buying a piece of land. Mr Basal, 27, who has been living in Lebanon with his wife and three children for the past three months, said authorities asked him if he belonged to or trained with any terrorist groups. He rejected allegations that he left Australia because he was being monitored by ASIO over his alleged links to Sheik Feiz. Mr Basal said he was interrogated about his links to Mr Sabouh, a former Sydney financial adviser. "It's all garbage, mate - it's just because they've got beards and that, they've taken them in," Mr Basal said. Elomar and Mr Basal said they had no links to Mr Hadba. | ||
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Elomar said he took his family to Lebanon to buy a piece of land to build a holiday house and check on a business of breeding alpacas in Lebanon that he was trying to develop with Mr Basal. Elomar said he and Mr Basal were arrested at Mr Sabouh's home as they contemplated buying a piece of land. Contemplating setting up a business in a war zone. He has taken one too many to the Noggen. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2007-07-04 01:01 |