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| Europe |
| Algerians 'used card fraud to fund jihad' |
| 2003-02-05 |
| From their homes in Leicester, Algerians Baghdad Meziane and Brahim Benmerzouga allegedly ran bank and credit card frauds to fund terrorism, disseminated bin Laden propaganda and arranged travel to terrorist training camps. Among their possessions when they were arrested in September 2001 was a collection of extremist videos including 19 copies of a compilation of bin Laden's speeches. In those the Saudi exile preached that it was the religious duty of Muslims to attack Americans, Jews and their Christian allies. Other videos contained scenes of attacks by Muslim guerrillas on their enemies in Chechnya, Algeria, Afghanistan and Indonesia, it was alleged. Martyrdom and suicide bombings were praised. Wonder if they had many throat-slitting snuff vids? Those are popular among the jihad wannabe set... Mark Ellison, QC, prosecuting, said that neither Meziane, 38, nor Benmerzouga, 31, was engaged in planning or carrying out terrorist attacks. But he said they actively promoted and supported bin Laden's ideology, knowing that his cause was to wage a violent campaign against the West. But natch. They were too important to the movement to explode themselves... Both lied about their immigration status, it was claimed. Meziane and Benmerzouga have pleaded not guilty to "entering into a funding arrangement for the purposes of terrorism". Meziane denies conspiring with others to defraud by making and using counterfeit credit, bank and charge cards and false accounts. Benmerzouga has pleaded guilty to the same charge and to three charges of possessing two bogus French passports and a fake Belgian passport with intent to deceive. Meziane has admitted possessing a false French passport. "I mean, you can't be an Algerian without at least a couple of phoney passports!" |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |