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Brigitte could be free soon
THE case against French terror suspect Willie Brigitte has been suspended while authorities investigate claims that he may have been illegally extradited from Australia last year. Lawyers for Brigitte insist French authorities did not follow proper legal procedures to have him transferred to Paris following his arrest in Sydney last October. They have lodged a request for the extradition to be disallowed. If the request is upheld, the case against Brigitte would collapse and he would walk free. French legal sources have said that the judiciary is taking the formal request "very seriously" and will not be handing down a decision until September. "If the request is successful, it will cancel the charges against him," said one government insider. "He would walk free." Under French law, Brigitte cannot be questioned while the legalities of his incarceration are being examined. Up until the review, which was ordered last month, the Guadaloupe-born French national was regularly interrogated by Franceâs leading anti-terror judge, Jean-Louise Bruguiere. French investigators have linked Brigitte to senior operatives of al-Qaeda, including some of Osama bin Ladenâs trusted lieutenants. The former French marine, 35, allegedly has links to organisers of the September 11 and March 11 (Madrid) terrorist attacks. Judge Bruguiereâs team asserted Brigitte travelled to Australia in May last year to help a local terrorist group "prepare a terrorist act of great size". Brigitteâs "mission" was to look after an explosives expert from Chechnya who was set to be smuggled into Australia posing as a fan of the Georgian team competing in the Rugby World Cup. The dossier also lists the names of people claimed by Brigitte to be leading figures of Sydneyâs Islamic terror network, including Lakemba imam Sheikh Abdul Salam Mohammed Zoud and Pakistani-born architect Faheem Khalid Lodhi. Lodhi has since been charged with a raft of terrorism-related charges after police allegedly found incriminating documents and materials, including a stockpile of bomb-making chemicals. Brigitteâs Paris-based attorney, Jean-Claude Durimel, has refused to comment on his legal challenge to Brigitteâs extradition. Meanwhile, Brigitte has refused to speak with Australian anti-terror police who flew to Paris last month as part of the investigation into his alleged plans. Brigitte has said he is not obliged to speak to Australian investigators because he was outside their jurisdiction. French Justice Minister Dominique Perben has refused to comment on claims that his ministry may have bungled the case against Brigitte by its extradition. Posted by: Dan Darling 2004-07-10 |
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