The United Nations imposed sanctions Thursday on two Saudi activists accused of ties to al-Qaida and the leader of a Muslim extremist group in the Philippines. It also dropped the punitive measures against a Jordanian who claims he was Osama bin Laden's bodyguard. The Security Council committee in charge of anti-terrorism sanctions said Saudi dissident Saad al-Fagih, Saudi businessman Adel Batterjee, and Khadaffy Janjalani, leader of the Abu Sayyaf rebel group that has kidnapped Americans in the Philippines, have been added to the list of those subject to sanctions.
At the same time, it announced that Jordanian Shadi Abdellah, who was convicted of helping plan terror attacks in Germany but granted early release last month, had been removed from the list. Abdellah, who testified he acted briefly as bin Laden's bodyguard while in an al-Qaida training camp, was a government witness while in prison including against his alleged co-plotters in the German cell of the Tawhid and Jihad group, headed by Islamic militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Earlier this month, Abdella's attorney said he had been questioned by U.S. officials who are considering having him testify at the Virginia trial of terror suspect Zacarias Moussaoui.
| I guess he's been turned. First the testimony, then the plastic surgery and the witness protection program... |
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