A Spanish judge has formally charged 35 men, including al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and Al-jazeera TV journalist Taysir Alouni, with involvement in the September 11 attacks.
| Sucks, being you, don't it, Taysir? |
As part of his investigation into an al-Qaida cell operating in Spain, High Court Judge Baltazar Garzon in a 700-page indictment on Wednesday called for Interpol to arrest bin Laden and extradite him to Spain. He said there was evidence of the 9/11 plot being hatched in Spain.
| Interpol will get right on it... |
Spain has already arrested a number of suspects it says were involved in the attacks. Garzon said they should remain in jail. Syrian-born Alouni was arrested on 5 September and was ordered to remain in prison without bail, pending trial. Insisting that Alouni is innocent, Al-jazeera has accused the United States and Israel of inciting Spain to incriminate him.
| "Dat's right. It's dem Merkins and the Jews!" |
Our correspondent in Madrid said Garzon reserved 26 pages out of the 700 to Alouni in which he accused him of having contacts, transporting money and assisting individuals suspected of being members of al-Qaida. The judge emphasised that Alouni did not participate in âterroristâ actions. But he accused him of using his journalistic work to move money and assist an individual to obtain a residency permit, the correspondent said. An Algerian lawyer in London Saad Jabbar told Aljazeera that the charges against Alouni had no solid basis.
| And who owuld know better than an Algerian lawyer in London? |
Also charged was Imad Eddim Barakat Yarkas, alias Abu Dahdah, suspected by authorities of heading an al-Qaida cell in Spain. He has already been detained by authorities. |