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| Europe |
| Germany At Odds With US Over Arrested Sheikh |
| 2003-01-26 |
| Source: The Times (Britain) A new dispute between Washington and Berlin is breaking out over the extradition of a Yemeni sheikh arrested in Germany after an entrapment operation by American agents. "The bitch set me up..." Sheikh Ali Hassan al-Moayad, an influential opposition figure in Yemen and a suspected sponsor of international terrorism, travelled to Frankfurt this month to seek treatment for gall bladder problems. It proved to be a mistake: within days he was in a high-security prison, arrested on the basis of a warrant hurriedly drawn up by the FBI and authorised by a Brooklyn court. The US authorities say that the 54-year-old sheikh channelled money, weapons and recruits to the terrorist groups Hamas and al-Qaeda between October 8, 1997, and December 17, 2002. He also had contacts with Osama bin Laden. Yep. Sounds like a bad boy. So what's the problem, Fritz? The Germans are irritated. "The warrant was issued on January 5, before the arrival in Germany of the Sheikh and his Okay. I'd assume they gave them a little more? The "little more" came as a sting set up by US agents. On January 8 a Yemeni contact man, apparently with links to both German and US Intelligence, introduced the sheikh to a black American claiming to be a millionaire. The American came to the Sheikh's hotel room at Frankfurt airport, and said that he wanted to build a huge bakery in Sanaa, Yemen's capital: 7,000 loaves a day could be distributed to the poor. He said he had made his money in building and had converted to Islam; he could quote from the Koran. He said that he wanted to help. Schools could be constructed. His condition: some of the donated money should go towards the holy war. "No, no!" the sheikh responded. "I'm a peaceful fellow! I don't support terrorists!" Right? The conversation was bugged. Near by three agents of the German Federal Criminal Agency sat with two interpreters and an FBI operative listening as the sheikh apparently agreed to the plan. According to leaked fragments of the transcript, the sheikh said that any money remaining after building the bakery would be used to fight the "Great Satan America". The fake millionaire suggested coding the payments to avoid the gaze of the Intelligence services. The Sheikh allegedly agreed to this and to money-laundering measures. Looks like they got the goods on him. So what's Fritz bitching about? The meeting was enough to justify the arrest of the sheikh and his companion, Mohammed Yahya Zayed, 28. It does not yet seem to be enough to justify the Sheikh's extradition to the United States. Ohfergawdsake! Washington, already irritated by Germany's stand against a war with Iraq, is expressing dismay about the lack of progress. Meanwhile a second extradition request has arrived from Yemen, which believes that it could face unrest if the Sheikh, a popular man at home, is sent to America. Hmmm... I'd guess that the Yemenis don't intend to treat him quite the same way the Merkins would. The legal problem relates to the evidence gathered through eavesdropping. West Germany, all too aware of what happened under the Nazis, had banned secretly taped evidence from the courtroom. Germany's new anti-terrorism laws give the police greater scope for sting operations but investigators have to show that they did not steer or provoke an incriminating statement. The Sheikh refuses to speak but his companion, Mr Zayed, says that no compromising conversation took place. "Nope. Not even the one on tape." |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |