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| Arabia |
| Kuwait tries four for links to al-Qaeda |
| 2003-01-06 |
| Fiona MacDonald for Middle East Online Four Kuwaitis arrested last November for suspected links to al-Qaeda denied Monday that they belonged to the network or that they had ever been to Afghanistan, their "Lies! All lies! I deny everything! I deny that I said that!" Munawer, who is defending three of the men, said the court would issue its verdict in the case on February 3. "In general, the defendants denied they went to Afghanistan and there is nothing in their passports that indicated they went to Afghanistan," he said, adding that the four had travelled to Pakistan for charity work. [Knock knock] "Got a CARE package here — arms and ammunition for somebody named Binny!" Mohsen al-Fadli, 21, Maqbool Fahad al-Maqbool and Mohammed al-Mutairi, 25, and Adel Yusif Buhaimed, 35, were arrested on suspicion of being members of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda and helping finance terrorist attacks in the Gulf. All four were accused last month of "joining a foreign nation's military and endangering Kuwait's political relations." Munawer said that during Monday's court session, a judge asked the defendants if they were members of al-Qaeda and whether they knew any of the group's leaders or members, which they all denied. The four also denied ever being acquainted with one another prior to their arrest, he said. "I say that indeed they don't know one another or the state security would have submitted evidence that they did," said Munawer. "The defendants denied they trained in weapons or joined camps in Afghanistan or anywhere else." They denied sending money to Yemen for aid purposes or for setting up training camps, Munawer added, claiming there was no evidence such money was ever sent. They also denied their names, being Kuwaitis, and being in court. "I am not here," Mohsen said. "I am over there, and I deny that I have ever been here. Wanna see my documents? They're very genuine..." |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #1 Gee, ya mean they didn't stop to get their false passports stamped whilst sneaking into Afghanistan? Da noive.... |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-01-06 15:12:47 |