Spain's High Court ordered the re-arrest on Friday of Al Jazeera journalist Tayseer Alouni and another defendant who had been freed for health reasons during a trial of 24 alleged al Qaeda members. A court official said Alouni and Jamal Hussein were arrested in the southern city of Granada because they were considered a flight risk. They are due to appear before the High Court in Madrid on Monday where their bail will be formally revoked.The High Court is expected to announce its verdict in Europe's biggest trial of suspected Islamist militants by September 26 at the earliest, the court official said. Alouni and Hussein are accused of belonging to a terrorist group and could face nine years in prison if convicted. Both say they are innocent. Alouni, a Syrian-born father of five and holder of Spanish citizenship, was freed from jail on medical grounds in March, but ordered to remain under house arrest.
The key figure in the trial was Syrian-born Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas, also known as Abu Dahdah, accused of helping the Sept. 11 hijackers plan the attacks on U.S. cities in 2001. Alouni interviewed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks. Prosecutors accuse him of carrying money intended for al Qaeda members during visits he made to Afghanistan for his journalistic work. The reporter's initial arrest sparked outrage among Arab human rights groups, journalists and colleagues at Qatar-based TV station Al Jazeera, who called it an attack on press freedom.