Mohammed Jamal Khalifa still a free man in the Philippines
MOHAMAD Jamal Khalifa is the brother-in-law of Osama bin Laden. He is accused of helping to spread Al-Qaedaâs reach in the region in the late 1980s as head of the International Islamic Research Organisationâs (Iiro) Philippine operations, a Saudi charity now under watch.
Whoâs watch? Nayefâs?
The Philippine authorities say they have âsubstantial informationâ that Khalifa ârecruited militants and gave financial support to Muslim extremist groups fighting the governmentâ. Yet, they say they have no case against him and he is not a wanted man in the country.
Why?
The case shows the challenges the authorities face in the war on terrorism. Often, evidence strong enough to hold up in a court of law is inadequate. Few people dare to testify against suspected terrorists.
Especially not Binnyâs brother-in-law, it would seem.
Khalifa, who now runs a seafood restaurant in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, told The Straits Times that he became director of Iiroâs Manila office in 1988 but quit in 1994 to return to the kingdom. The Iiro, he said, did humanitarian work, setting up clinics and schools. He denied that it had anything to do with militancy.
âThe people have forgotten all the good work I did and are making these allegations without any proof,â he said.
"The witnesses are all dead, ain't they?" | But Colonel Rodolfo Mendoza, a counter-terrorism expert for the Philippine National Police, said: âWe have substantial information that he engaged in activities inimical to the countryâs interests.â The authorities said Khalifa used the Iiro as a legal front for his activities in the Philippines. âHe was responsible for linking local extremists to the financial machinery of the Al-Qaeda. He helped spread radical Islam in the southern Philippines,â Col Mendoza said. âHe had a legitimate cover, which he used to transfer funds to the MILF and the Abu Sayyaf, and to receive funding from foreign groups.â The 12,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is the countryâs largest rebel group while the Abu Sayyaf is a ragtag group of about 200 Muslim extremists notorious for kidnapping people for ransom. One of the projects financed by Khalifa is an orphanage for the children of slain MILF rebels in the southern Philippines. The UN Monitoring Group said in its report that the Iiroâs office in Zamboanga city reportedly served as the coordinating centre for secessionist Islamic activities during the early 1990s. Yet, enforcement agencies have not moved against Khalifa because they lack direct evidence, said Col Mendoza. âNo case was ever filed against him and nobody has come forward to testify,â he said.
Besides, he's back in Jedda, safe and sound, and the Soddies aren't going to extradite him, anyway... | Dr Zachary Abuza, who has written a book on Militant Islam In South-east Asia, believes that the problem lies in inadequate monitoring mechanisms. âKhalifa walked that fine line between legal and illicit activities because the end-use of funds was not being adequately monitored.â The lesson was, simply, that there had to be better accounting of such firms in the region, Dr Abuza said.
Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-01-04 |