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| Europe |
| Al-Jazeera reporter admits giving $4,000 to 9/11 accomplice |
| 2005-05-17 |
| Al Jazeera correspondent Tayseer Alouni told a court on Monday he delivered $4,000 to a man later charged with mass murder in the Sept. 11 attacks but said he was doing a favor for an acquaintance. The Arab TV channel reporter testified in his own defense in the trial of 24 al Qaeda suspects, three of them charged with helping the hijackers in the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington. Alouni, 50, a Syrian with Spanish citizenship, denied close ties to the alleged cell leader in Spain and central figure in the trial, Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas. He said he had no knowledge of Barakat Yarkas recruiting "mujahideen" Islamist fighters. "Our relationship was never intense or continuous 
He seemed to me well-mannered, very friendly, helpful," Alouni said. Prosecutors seek a 9-year prison term against Alouni, who faces a charge of belonging to an armed group based in part on the $4,000 Alouni gave to Mohamed Bahaiah in 2000 in Afghanistan. Prosecutors say Bahaiah, still a fugitive, was a holy warrior with access to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Alouni was beginning his stint as Al Jazeera's correspondent in Kabul. Alouni said he gave Bahaiah $4,000 after Bahaia's associates handed $4,000 to Alouni's wife at their home in Granada, Spain. Bahaiah's wife raised the money by selling their earthquake-damaged flat in Turkey, Alouni said. "I told him (Bahaiah) that it was no problem because I got paid in Kabul and didn't need all of my salary," Alouni said. Much of Alouni's testimony recalled how he stood firm when he interviewed bin Laden on Oct. 21, 2001. Messengers came to his Kabul residence unannounced, blindfolded him, changed cars and drove for several hours. "I took off my blindfold and there was Mr bin Laden," Alouni said. But bin Laden refused to take questions on current events. This was 40 days after the Sept. 11 attacks and two weeks after the U.S. military had invaded Afghanistan. Bin Laden said "there are some questions I don't want to answer. So I told him there would be no interview," Alouni said. Alouni relented and interviewed bin Laden, but Al Jazeera refused to air it because of the conditions he had imposed. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |