 JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - The Red Thingy Cross said Thursday it had passed a message from an alleged Southeast Asian terror chief held at Guantanamo Bay to his family in Indonesia. It was the first time the detainee Hambali has been allowed to contact his family since his arrest in Thailand in 2003, said Marcal Izard, a local spokesman for the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Thingy Cross.
A Red Cross team passed the message to his family on Java island on Wednesday, he said. "He was able to give his greetings to them," Izard said. "At least the family knows he is there (in Guantanamo) and can now write a message to him."
"Dear Ma, send guns money swimwear." |
Hambali, also known as Riduan Isamuddin, was allegedly the key link between al-Qaida and Southeast Asian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah. The group is blamed for a string of bombings in Indonesia, including 2002 attacks on the resort island of Bali that killed 202 people. He is one of 14 terrorist suspects recently transferred to U.S. military custody at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in southeastern Cuba after being held by the CIA at a secret location.
| And if it's too hot for him there we'll transfer him to Ice Station Zebra. |
Hambali dictated the message to Red Thingy Cross officials who wrote it down, said Izard. The note was first checked by U.S. censors and was also shared with Indonesian authorities, Izard said, saying he would be allowed to send more messages later.
| More messages than the 202 victims at Bali can send their loved ones, but ya gotta follow the Red Thingy rules. |
The other 13 suspects recently transferred to Guantanamo from secret locations were also given the chance to send messages to their families, the Red Thingy Cross said. |