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| Britain |
| London-based terror suspect 'shocked' at U.S. indictment |
| 2003-02-22 |
| He's shocked! SHOCKED! A professor of Islamic studies in Britain expressed shock Friday at his indictment in the United States on charges he directed and financed a Palestinian terrorist group, and dismissed the allegations as baseless. "As far as I know, the American officials who made allegations against me presented no evidence whatsoever," Bashir Musa Mohammed Nafi said in a statement. "Y'got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'!" He said it was "almost amusing they have got things so wrong" but added he and his wife were in "total shock." The indictment announced in Washington on Thursday accuses eight men of operating a criminal racketeering enterprise supporting Palestinian Islamic Jihad since 1984. The charges include conspiracy to kill and maim persons abroad; conspiracy to provide material support and resources to the group; and engaging in various acts of extortion, perjury, obstruction of justice and visa fraud. Each defendant could face life in prison if convicted. Four of those indicted were arrested in the United States, where they were described as setting up a terrorist cell. Three others were said to be residents of Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip. One of them's the head of Islamic Jihad, in Damascus. Figger the odds on getting him in custody... Nafi, 50, who is originally from Egypt and holds Egyptian and Irish passports, was alleged to be the British leader of Palestinian Jihad. He allegedly also was formerly associated with the World and Islamic Studies Enterprise in Tampa, Fla., which allegedly was involved in supporting terrorism. "I and my family feel absolutely shocked to hear these allegations," Nafi said. You said that before... "I would like to make it absolutely clear that I am not and have never been a member of any organized political group whether in the Middle East or anywhere else." As Will Rogers put it, "I am not a member of an organized poltical party. I am a Democrat..." He is a lecturer at Birkbeck College, part of the University of London, and also teaches at the Muslim College in the capital. Earlier, Nafi told Britain's Press Association news agency that he believed he was targeted because of his association with certain individuals. "You're a friend of someone, who's a friend of someone, and that's how it starts," he said. Matter of fact, that is how it starts. Analysts build networks of the target's contacts. If you get a single link, it's maybe coincidence. Two and you've got a possible. Three links and you've got a probable. Anything three or better is considered a winner. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #1 The indictment is at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/flm/pr/022003indict.pdf. (via Martin Kramer's SandStorm (http://www.martinkramer.org/pages/899529/). |
| Posted by: Quana 2003-02-22 11:45:03 |