C L O S E R International Terrorism - 9/18 - C L O S E R

Bombers had targeted Casablanca landmarks: papers – washingtonpost.com

Posted on March 26th, 2007 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Morocco.

Bombers had targeted Casablanca landmarks: papers – washingtonpost.com
Bombers had targeted Casablanca landmarks: papers

By Lamine Ghanmi

RABAT (Reuters) – A Moroccan who was blown up in a Casablanca Internet cafe was part of a gang of suicide bombers who planned to attack landmarks in Morocco’s commercial capital, newspapers reported on Tuesday.

Abdelfattah Raydi, 23, blew up a belt of explosives he was carrying on Sunday night, killing himself and wounding four people after a tussle with the owner of the Web cafe in a suburb that is home to Casablanca’s largest slum.

“Five young men recruited by a man in the area of Hay Mohammedi were ready to carry out suicide bombings in Casablanca,” said Annass daily, which is considered to be well-informed on security matters.Assabah newspaper said the blast was accidental. The real target had been Casablanca’s police and paramilitary headquarters, restaurants and hotels, the paper said, citing unnamed security agencies. (more…)

Poverty-stricken Morocco bomber served jail time – washingtonpost.com

Posted on March 26th, 2007 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Morocco.

Poverty-stricken Morocco bomber served jail time – washingtonpost.com
Poverty-stricken Morocco bomber served jail time

By Zakia Abdennebi

DOUAR ESCUELA, Morocco (Reuters) – Neighbors of a Moroccan suspected suicide bomber portray him as a religious man who tried in vain to lift his family out of poverty after his release from a prison term for membership of a militant group.

But no one in this fly-blown Casablanca slum raided overnight by police was able to explain why Abdelfattah Raydi detonated a belt of explosives in an Internet cafe on Sunday night, blowing himself to pieces and wounding four people.

Al-Qaidaâ€™s standing Paul Rogers – openDemocracy

Posted on March 23rd, 2007 by .
Categories: International Terrorism.

Al-Qaidaâ€™s standing Paul Rogers – openDemocracy

Paul Rogers

The blindness of the Bush administration is a key weapon in the al-Qaida networkâ€™s armoury
——————————————

Osama bin Laden’s 50th birthday on 10 March 2007 was an occasion for much media reflection on the persistence of the al-Qaida movement. One attempt to counter this was the Pentagon’s release of transcripts of what were said to be confessions from its highest-ranking GuantÃ namo detainee, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. These confessions included his involvement in thirty al-Qaida operations over a decade, going right back to the first bombing of the World Trade Centre in February 1993.

The publicity was certainly widespread within the United States, including a marked “spin” on the main news channels to the effect that the transcripts showed just how important this figure was. As such, it served to suggest that the United States had had some real successes in its war on terror, and that the capture of this mastermind was a key example. Some of the more experienced journalists were far more sceptical, with some very good analysis of the persistent influence of al-Qaida coming in the non-US press (notably Jason Burke’s assessment, “Al-Qaeda: the second coming”, Observer, 11 March 2007).

Skepticism over Khalid Sheikh Muhammad

Posted on March 20th, 2007 by .
Categories: International Terrorism.

Pearl’s family questions terrorist’s confession | Jerusalem Post
The family of Daniel Pearl has expressed skepticism over a claim by the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, that he personally beheaded the American journalist five years ago.

The myth of Muslim support for terror | csmonitor.com

Posted on March 19th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Research International.

The myth of Muslim support for terror | csmonitor.com

The common enemy is violence and terrorism, not Muslims any more than Christians or Jews an op-ed by By Kenneth Ballen.

WASHINGTON – Those who think that Muslim countries and pro-terrorist attitudes go hand-in-hand might be shocked by new polling research: Americans are more approving of terrorist attacks against civilians than any major Muslim country except for Nigeria.

The survey, conducted in December 2006 by the University of Maryland’s prestigious Program on International Public Attitudes, shows that only 46 percent of Americans think that “bombing and other attacks intentionally aimed at civilians” are “never justified,” while 24 percent believe these attacks are “often or sometimes justified.”

Contrast those numbers with 2006 polling results from the world’s most-populous Muslim countries â€“ Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nigeria. Terror Free Tomorrow, the organization I lead, found that 74 percent of respondents in Indonesia agreed that terrorist attacks are “never justified”; in Pakistan, that figure was 86 percent; in Bangladesh, 81 percent. (more…)

The myth of Muslim support for terror | csmonitor.com

Posted on March 19th, 2007 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Research International.

The myth of Muslim support for terror | csmonitor.com

The common enemy is violence and terrorism, not Muslims any more than Christians or Jews an op-ed by By Kenneth Ballen.

WASHINGTON – Those who think that Muslim countries and pro-terrorist attitudes go hand-in-hand might be shocked by new polling research: Americans are more approving of terrorist attacks against civilians than any major Muslim country except for Nigeria.

The survey, conducted in December 2006 by the University of Maryland’s prestigious Program on International Public Attitudes, shows that only 46 percent of Americans think that “bombing and other attacks intentionally aimed at civilians” are “never justified,” while 24 percent believe these attacks are “often or sometimes justified.”

Contrast those numbers with 2006 polling results from the world’s most-populous Muslim countries â€“ Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nigeria. Terror Free Tomorrow, the organization I lead, found that 74 percent of respondents in Indonesia agreed that terrorist attacks are “never justified”; in Pakistan, that figure was 86 percent; in Bangladesh, 81 percent. (more…)

Protected: Planet – Monument Van Gogh eindelijk onthuld

Posted on March 18th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Murder on theo Van Gogh and related issues, Religious and Political Radicalization.

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New case of terrorism in Morocco

Posted on March 15th, 2007 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Morocco.

A man with explosives hidden on his body blew himself up in an Internet cafe after the owners prevented him from looking at terror Web sites, the Interior Ministry said Monday.

The man was killed and four people were injured in the Sunday night blast in a Casablanca slum, said ministry spokesman Abderrahman Achour. One of the wounded was the dead man’s companion, who was hospitalized with burns and a throat injury.Both men were carrying explosives. But officials believe the cybercafe may not have been their target and that the explosion was an accident. The dead man was identified as Abdelftah Raidi, who was convicted of suspected terror links and sentenced to five years in prison before being pardoned in 2005, Achour told The Associated Press. Raidi, a Casablanca native in his early 20s, was unemployed, he said. Raidi’s injured companion was identified as Yusuf Khoudri, from the same Casablanca neighborhood, Achour said.

The news agency reported that two men entered the cafe at 10 p.m. Sunday seeking access to terrorist sites, but the owner’s son refused. A scuffle broke out, and the owner called for help before Raidi’s explosives went off, Kacemi was quoted as saying by MAP. Khoudri then fled, dropping an explosives belt on his way out, the official said. He was arrested about an hour later.

Khoudri was taken to Mohamed V Hospital in Casablanca, where he underwent an operation on his throat, the ministry spokesman said. Police questioning was limited because of his injury.

Moroccan officials are investigating if this was an act of (attempted) suicide terrorism but other officials seem already sure it is an act of terrorism. Morocco has been on a high alert since the series of bomb attacks in Algeria recently and the formation of the Algerian Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, formerly known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC). This change might be an attempt as to gather more recruts for Algeria but can also seen as an attempt of the GSPC to present itself as the only true representer of Al Qaeda and widening its range of activities. An imporant part of Morocco’s war against terror is also aimed at chasing down perpetrators of the Madrid attacks; one of whom is recently arrested.

Profiling and the war against terror

Posted on March 13th, 2007 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Multiculti Issues, Religious and Political Radicalization.

Declaring that airport screeners shouldn’t be hampered by “political correctness,” House Homeland Security Chairman Peter King has endorsed requiring people of “Middle Eastern and South Asian” descent to undergo additional security checks because of their ethnicity and religion.

Discussing the recent revelation of an alleged plot in England to blow up U.S.-bound airliners, the Seaford Republican said yesterday that, “if the threat is coming from a particular group, I can understand why it would make sense to single them out for further questioning.”

King, who has said that all Muslims aren’t terrorists but that all recent terrorists are Muslim, favors an ethnic and religious profiling scheme that would include foreign and American-born travelers. “I would give the investigators and screeners a lot of discretion as to where it ends,” he said.

Despite King’s endorsement of such a process, it is a technique that has been widely dismissed as a legitimate law enforcement tool. A recent article in the Washington Post makes clear how difficult this profiling is with the example of a Moroccan-Dutch woman arrested because of alledgedly helping her husband with his (also alledged) terrorist plans:

Protected: The Muslim News – Group warns Germany, Austria of attacks

Posted on March 12th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

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De nieuwe reporter Â» Blog Archive Â» Het onjuiste beeld van Al-Qaeda in de media

Posted on February 23rd, 2007 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Murder on theo Van Gogh and related issues, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

De nieuwe reporter Â» Blog Archive Â» Het onjuiste beeld van Al-Qaeda in de media
Een aardige impressie van een recent debat op DNR door Floor Milikowski
Sinds het instorten van de Twin Towers op 11 september 2001 is de naam Al-Qaeda niet meer weg te denken uit kranten, tijdschriften, radio- en tv-programmaâ€™s. Bij het oprollen van terroristische cellen, bij iedere aanslag en bij elke nieuwe dreiging, leggen de media direct een link met Al-Qaeda en indirect met Osama bin Laden. Het is de vraag of dit terecht is. Bin Laden is zijn macht grotendeels kwijt en van het oorspronkelijke Al-Qaeda is niets of weinig meer over.

In De Balie in Amsterdam bogen verschillende deskundigen zich onlangs over de vraag: â€˜Waar is Al-Qaeda?â€™. Over wie hebben we het, waar komt het vandaan en waar wil het heen?

Duidelijk werd dat Al-Qaeda een minder eenduidig begrip is dan veel mensen (willen) denken. Midden-Oostendeskundige Bertus Hendriks en de arabisten Hans Jansen en Roel Meijer wezen erop dat Al-Qaeda niet zozeer een organisatie of netwerk is, alswel een ideologie, een state of mind, een inspiratiebron en een vlag waaronder wordt geopereerd.

Protected: nu.nl/algemeen | Verdachten jihadwerving langer vast

Posted on February 23rd, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

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Protected: nu.nl/algemeen | Verdachten jihadwerving langer vast

Posted on February 23rd, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

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de Volkskrant – Als de jihad roept, ga ik

Posted on February 11th, 2007 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

de Volkskrant – Als de jihad roept, ga ik
Als de jihad roept, ga ik

de Volkskrant, Het Vervolg, 10 februari 2007 (pagina 26)
Janny Groen en Annieke Kranenberg

Moad en Michele, een smoorverliefd islamitisch stel uit kringen van de Hofstadgroep, verschijnen eind februari voor de rechter. Ze zouden een aparte terroristische organisatie vormen. â€˜Ze produceerden een eigen ideologisch brouwselâ€™. Een reconstructie. Door Door Janny Groen en Annieke Kranenberg

Clingendael Security and Conflict Programme | Jihadi terrorists in Europe

Posted on February 11th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

CSCP – Clingendael Security and Conflict Programme | Publications
Press Release:

Jihadi terrorists in Europe, their characteristics and the circumstances in which they joined the jihad: an exploratory study, Edwin Bakker

Much has been published about Islamist or jihadi terrorism in recent years. In particular the Al-Qaeda network has been studied in detail. Less attention has been given to specific characteristics of jihadi terrorists and the circumstances in which they joined the violent jihad.

The latest Clingendael Security Paper, ‘Jihadi terrorists in Europe’, aims to contribute to a better understanding of the individuals and networks that have been behind jihadi terrorist activities in Europe (31 foiled and ‘successful’ plots and attacks between September 2001 and September 2006). To this end, it identifies about 250 terrorists and their networks, and investigates their characteristics and the circumstances under which they joined the violent jihad. (more…)

Clingendael Security and Conflict Programme | Jihadi terrorists in Europe

Posted on February 11th, 2007 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

CSCP – Clingendael Security and Conflict Programme | Publications
Press Release:

Jihadi terrorists in Europe, their characteristics and the circumstances in which they joined the jihad: an exploratory study, Edwin Bakker

Much has been published about Islamist or jihadi terrorism in recent years. In particular the Al-Qaeda network has been studied in detail. Less attention has been given to specific characteristics of jihadi terrorists and the circumstances in which they joined the violent jihad.

The latest Clingendael Security Paper, ‘Jihadi terrorists in Europe’, aims to contribute to a better understanding of the individuals and networks that have been behind jihadi terrorist activities in Europe (31 foiled and ‘successful’ plots and attacks between September 2001 and September 2006). To this end, it identifies about 250 terrorists and their networks, and investigates their characteristics and the circumstances under which they joined the violent jihad. (more…)

With Us or Against Us: The Rhetoric of the War on Terror at Yahya Birt

Posted on February 9th, 2007 by .
Categories: Important Publications, Internal Debates, International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization, Research International, Young Muslims.

With Us or Against Us: The Rhetoric of the War on Terror at Yahya Birt
With Us or Against Us: The Rhetoric of the War on Terror

This essay offers an analysis of this rhetoric to see what it seeks to persuade Muslims to do, what its unspoken premises are and which categories it uses to mobilise Muslim sentiment. Five years on after 9/11 and with the descent of Iraq into bloody civil war, it is essential that Muslims develop a critical distance from this rhetoric, not only because it can be internalised and have negative consequences for Muslims and how they evaluate themselves and their faith, but also because the rhetoric does much to justify an aggressive militarism that feeds the very terrorism it purports to be ending.

In his essay Birt deconstructs the war on terror discourse in a very sophisticated way. He engages with several issues such as the dichotomy between the west and islam, the so called ‘Muslim anger’ caused by socio-economic disparities and the modern way of life, the weakness of many of the critiques towards the us vs. them advocates, the distinction between good Muslims and bad Muslims and the lack of imagination how to end the war on terror. Well this summary doesn’t really do justice to the essay, so read it yourself.

GeenCommentaar – Zainab Salbi: â€˜Vrouwenlichaam is deel van het slagveldâ€™

Posted on February 4th, 2007 by .
Categories: Gender, Kinship & Marriage Issues, Important Publications, International Terrorism.

Op GeenCommentaar: Zainab Salbi: â€˜Vrouwenlichaam is deel van het slagveldâ€™
Door Esther van london-calling

Zainab Salbi was elf jaar oud toen haar vader in dienst trad als privÃ©piloot van ex-dictator Saddam Hoessein. Van dichtbij maakte ze oorlog, intimidatie en angst â€“ vooral de angst van haar ouders â€“ mee. Tien jaar geleden richtte ze een organisatie op voor vrouwen die emotioneel en lichamelijk gewond zijn door oorlog, maar de buitengewone wilskracht hebben door te gaan. Over deze vrouwen schreef ze een boek.

Het hele stuk lees je daarginder maar.

Islam en geweld

Posted on January 27th, 2007 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Multiculti Issues, Murder on theo Van Gogh and related issues.

Uit het Persbericht:

Als reactie op enkele zeer negatieve uitlatingen van verschillende volksvertegenwoordigers en van het vele geweld en aanslagen die onder het mom van de Islam worden gepleegd, is de stichting Islam tegen geweld opgericht.

Er is veel mis en het gevolg is dat er nu overduidelijk angst heerst voor de Islam en moslims in de wereld waardoor een harmonieuze samenleving tussen moslims onderling en niet moslims geen positieve ontwikkeling doormaakt.

Wij moslims die deels zelf verantwoordelijk zijn voor dit imago, willen hiermee verantwoordelijkheid nemen voor het slechte imago van de Islam dat onderdeel is van onze identiteit. Wij willen eraan bijdragen dit positief te ontwikkelen. De mens is zwak en is gauw geneigd zijn verantwoordelijkheden op zijn religie te schuiven. Het is noodzakelijk
dat er een â€˜haltâ€™ toegeroepen wordt aan deze geweldsmisdaden en er moet voorkomen worden dat zich nog meer geweldplegers ontpoppen. Ook moet het eens duidelijk worden dat de Islam geweld niet tolereert.

De stichting stelt zich ten doel:

geweldsdelicten en aanslagen uit naam van de Islam tegen te gaan en te bestrijden;

fysiek en geestelijk geweld tegen kwetsbare groepen (vrouwen, kinderen, ouderen en gehandicapten) tegen te gaan en te bestrijden;

het imago van de Islam te verbeteren door het verspreiden van betrouwbare informatie;

een brugfunctie te vervullen tussen moslims en niet moslims;

toe te zien op zorgvuldige naleving van het islamitische strafrecht in islamitische landen.

Voorzitter is Najia Siamarim en de website is binnenkort ook open: islamtegengeweld.com

Download: Jihad – 1

Posted on January 16th, 2007 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

Gisteren konden we op Nova ‘meegenieten’ van een reportage over jihad op het internet. Nova bracht het nieuws dat jihad teksten nog steeds op internet circuleren en daaronder vallen ook complete handleidingen en films.

De vraag is nu wat het nieuws is. De websites die men liet zien, zijn oud en soms niet meer actief. Men liet het Mujahideen Explosives Handbook zien dat al tijden op internet zwerft. In 2002 stonden vertaalde delen ervan zelfs op de website van het Amerikaanse ministerie van justitie. Het filmpje over het maken van een bomgordel is bij mijn weten ook oud.

Al eerder had Nova iets dergelijks opgedoken met Planet Internet: het Mujahideen Poison Handbook. Daar was nu niets over. Misschien verstandig want dat heeft iets weg van een hoax en lijkt gebaseerd op het Poisoners Handbook.

In ieder geval het Mujahideen Explosives Handbook maakt waarschijnlijk deel uit van de Encyclopedia of Jihad (Mawsu’at al-jihad). De auteur ervan is Abdel Aziz, waarschijnlijk een pseudoniem. De encyclopedia of jihad is op verschillende plekken in de wereld teruggevonden bij huiszoekingen. Er zijn verschillende van dit soort handboeken en encyclopedia in omloop en te downloaden via ‘reguliere’ downloadprogramma’s en sites.

Niks nieuws dus totnutoe. Genoeg vragen over dat wel. Zijn dergelijke handboeken alleen in het bezit van moslims of ook van radicaal-linkse en radicaal-rechtse groepen of radicale christenen? En hoe zit het met de impact ervan? Online teksten en offline handelingen zijn geen Ã©Ã©n op Ã©Ã©n verhaal; er vindt een soort vertaling plaats, interpretatie plaats. Hoe zit het daarmee?

De uitzending van NOVA was naar aanleiding van het rapport van het NCTB over jihad op internet. Dat heb ik nog niet gelezen, dus daar later meer over. Tot zover maar even de conclusie dat dit geen nieuw nieuws, maar oud nieuws. Je zou hopen dat de journalisten van NOVA nu verder zijn dan een paar jaar terug, maar dat lijkt er niet op. Men blijft hangen bij de constatering van een tijden terug dat jihadi’s gebruik maken van internet. Het zou pas vreemd zijn als ze dat niet zouden doen. Nova heeft de belangrijkste vragen laten liggen; broddelwerk en nodeloze zendtijdvulling.

Reuters AlertNet – Revered Saudi cleric denounces Shi'ites as infidels

Posted on December 29th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

Reuters AlertNet – Revered Saudi cleric denounces Shi’ites as infidels

DUBAI, Dec 29 (Reuters) – An influential cleric of Saudi Arabia’s hardline Sunni school of Islam has denounced Shi’ite Muslims as “infidels” in a new religious edict that comes amid rising sectarian tension in the region.

“The rejectionists (Shi’ites) in their entirety are the worst of the Islamic nation’s sects. They bear all the characteristics of infidels,” Sheikh Abdel-Rahman al-Barrak said in the fatwa, or ruling, distributed on Islamist Web sites.

“They are in truth polytheist infidels, though they hide this,” it said, citing theological differences 14 centuries after the death of the Prophet Mohammad, such as reverence of shrines which followers of Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabi school consider abhorrent.

Concern is growing in Saudi Arabia, birthplace of Islam, over Shi’ite-Sunni violence in Iraq which has taken the northern neighbour to the brink of civil war. Sunni-Shi’ite tensions are also high in Lebanon, where Shi’ites are leading efforts to bring down a Sunni-led cabinet.

“The Sunni and Shi’ites schools of Islam are opposites that can never agree, there can be no coming together unless Sunnis give up their principles,” the fatwa said.

Barrak, an independent scholar, has come to be regarded by many as the highest authority for Wahhabi Muslims.

Clerics of the austere Wahhabi school of Sunni Islam have long dismissed Shi’ites as virtual heretics and Saudi Arabia’s Shi’ite minority complains of second class treatment.But Barrak’s fatwa was the strongest in recent years.

The fatwa, which was published on Barrak’s Web site in response to a follower’s question, also appeared to criticise efforts by some government-backed Saudi preachers at reconciliation between Sunnis and Shi’ites.

Saudi Arabia fears that violence between Sunnis and Shi’ites could lead to the break-up of Iraq and spill over its borders.

Barrak was among 38 clerics who issued a statement this month calling on world Sunnis to support their brethren in Iraq.

Reuters AlertNet – Revered Saudi cleric denounces Shi’ites as infidels

Posted on December 29th, 2006 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

Reuters AlertNet – Revered Saudi cleric denounces Shi’ites as infidels

DUBAI, Dec 29 (Reuters) – An influential cleric of Saudi Arabia’s hardline Sunni school of Islam has denounced Shi’ite Muslims as “infidels” in a new religious edict that comes amid rising sectarian tension in the region.

“The rejectionists (Shi’ites) in their entirety are the worst of the Islamic nation’s sects. They bear all the characteristics of infidels,” Sheikh Abdel-Rahman al-Barrak said in the fatwa, or ruling, distributed on Islamist Web sites.

“They are in truth polytheist infidels, though they hide this,” it said, citing theological differences 14 centuries after the death of the Prophet Mohammad, such as reverence of shrines which followers of Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabi school consider abhorrent.

Concern is growing in Saudi Arabia, birthplace of Islam, over Shi’ite-Sunni violence in Iraq which has taken the northern neighbour to the brink of civil war. Sunni-Shi’ite tensions are also high in Lebanon, where Shi’ites are leading efforts to bring down a Sunni-led cabinet.

“The Sunni and Shi’ites schools of Islam are opposites that can never agree, there can be no coming together unless Sunnis give up their principles,” the fatwa said.

Barrak, an independent scholar, has come to be regarded by many as the highest authority for Wahhabi Muslims.

Clerics of the austere Wahhabi school of Sunni Islam have long dismissed Shi’ites as virtual heretics and Saudi Arabia’s Shi’ite minority complains of second class treatment.But Barrak’s fatwa was the strongest in recent years.

The fatwa, which was published on Barrak’s Web site in response to a follower’s question, also appeared to criticise efforts by some government-backed Saudi preachers at reconciliation between Sunnis and Shi’ites.

Saudi Arabia fears that violence between Sunnis and Shi’ites could lead to the break-up of Iraq and spill over its borders.

Barrak was among 38 clerics who issued a statement this month calling on world Sunnis to support their brethren in Iraq.

Protected: NOS.nl | Nieuws, Sport en Evenementen – Hofstadgroep op zwarte lijst EU

Posted on December 28th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

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Protected: NOS.nl | Nieuws, Sport en Evenementen – Hofstadgroep op zwarte lijst EU

Posted on December 28th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

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Dutch National Faces U.S. Terror Trial – Forbes.com

Posted on December 20th, 2006 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

Dutch National Faces U.S. Terror Trial – Forbes.com

By MIKE CORDER 12.19.06, 4:48 PM ET

A court on Tuesday rejected a last-ditch attempt to block the extradition of a Dutch citizen charged with terror attacks on American troops in his native Iraq in 2003.Wesam al Delaema, 32, is set to become the first suspect tried in a U.S. court for alleged terrorism in Iraq’s bloody insurgency. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Al Delaema says he is innocent. His attorneys have argued the U.S. does not have the right to try their client, that he could be tortured by U.S. authorities and that the American legal system cannot be trusted.

U.S. authorities said al Delaema will be tried in a federal court, not by a military commission such as those set up for terror suspects being held at Guantanamo Bay. They also said they would not be opposed to al Delaema serving his sentence in a Dutch prison if he is convicted.

“There is no reason to believe that the U.S. authorities will not abide by the commitments they have given or … deprive the suspect of his fundamental rights,” a judge at the court in The Hague said in Tuesday’s decision.

It was not clear when al Delaema would be flown out of the Netherlands. He is charged in the U.S. with possession of explosives and conspiracy to use them in an attack.

Evidence against al Delaema includes a videotape he filmed of a group called “Warriors of Fallujah” preparing a roadside bomb, which was widely shown on Arabic TV stations. The tape was seized by police who raided al Delaema’s house in Amersfoort in May 2005 following a tip from U.S. authorities.

Al Delaema argued he was forced to make the video after being kidnapped and beaten. He said he feared being beheaded if he resisted.

In a 2003 interview broadcast on Dutch television, al Delaema accused the U.S. and its allies of waging war in Iraq to control its oil reserves.

“I don’t care if I myself die or not. I want to offer myself up for my land, for my people,” he said in the interview.

His family has said the interview was a joke.

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