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Malaysia extends detention of six JI men
Malaysia has extended for two more years the detention of six alleged members of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist group, saying they still posed a security threat. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is also Home Minister, signed orders on Friday to keep the suspects in a northern Malaysian prison camp under a law that allows detention without trial. The six were among dozens of alleged militants arrested in late 2001 and early 2002, when authorities in Malaysia and neighbouring Singapore said theyâd uncovered an Al Qaeda-linked plot by Jemaah Islamiyah to blow up the US Embassy and other Western targets in Singapore. Among those detained is Yazid Sufaat, a former Malaysian army captain accused of helping several top al-Qaeda operatives when they visited Malaysia in 2000, including two Sept. 11 hijackers, and a close associate of alleged Jemaah Islamiyah leader Riduan Isamuddin, also known as Hambali. Officials say Yazid, a US trained biochemist, is also linked to Al Qaedaâs attempts to produce chemical and biological weapons. Yazid was arrested in late 2001 as he returned to Malaysia from Afghanistan. His detention was extended for two years last month. Among the six suspects whose detentions were extended on Friday is Yasidâs brother-in-law Ahmad Yani Ismail, and Abdul Samad Shukri, a former accountant with Exxon Mobil in Kuala Lumpur.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2004-02-21 |
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