| Submit your comments on this article |
| Europe |
| Terror accused in Germany: plot was a 'joke' |
| 2006-11-24 |
| Mainz, Germany - One of six Arab men arrested in Germany last week and accused of plotting to blow up a plane asserted in a television interview Thursday that the scheme had been a 'joke.' A newspaper, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung, added that prosecutors had 'inflated' the incident into a plot although investigators had wanted to close the file. It said searches of homes and the arrests of the men had been carried out after four months of fruitless inquiry. Officials in Germany say the group offered a person with a Frankfurt international airport security clearance a bribe to smuggle a bomb in a suitcase onto a plane. News reports said the group were Palestinians and had targeted the Israeli airline El Al. Five of the group were bailed Saturday, the day after their arrest. A Jordanian national among them spoke on SWR television, saying the group had spoken of 'stirring things' by smuggling a bag onto the jet. But the discussions had been 'not entirely serious.' The suspect said he had told a friend, 'We'll give you money and you'll put the bag on a plane,' adding, 'It was a joke.' Prosecutors say the scheme, during the past summer, came to nothing because no deal was struck on the bribe. According to newspapers, the airport employee reported the approach to police. German authorities say they are hunting the 'sponsors' of the attack. The Sueddeutsche, quoting 'security services,' said the evidence had never been grave and the supposed 'sponsors' did not exist. It said federal police and prosecutors had decided October 23 after months of vain inquiries to search the suspects' homes, mainly so they could say they had left no stone unturned. The paper said investigators had been worried they would lose judicial permission to continue tapping the men's telephones because the evidence was so slight. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #11 Let the joke be on him. Put him in the dungeon in the basement of Burg Pfalz (it's a small castle in the middle of the Rhine river - there is no basement-at least, not a dry one) for about 200 years. I'm sure he'll get a lot of laughs for that. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2006-11-24 21:03 |
| #10 "there is no I in Islam.... oh, wait..D'oh!....there's no I in Team!" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-11-24 18:47 |
| #9 Can't be a joke, they are forbidden. After Mr. Khomeini's return to Iran in 1979 as ruler of the country. One of his first orders was to censor pictures of himself smiling, on the ground that this made him look frivolous. Mr. Khomeini later explained: "An Islamic regime must be serious in every field. There are no jokes in Islam. There is no humor in Islam. There is no fun in Islam." |
| Posted by: Classer 2006-11-24 16:56 |
| #8 Terror accused in Germany: plot was a 'joke' Well, as devout Muslims, they're quite familiar with the biggest joke in history. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2006-11-24 14:09 |
| #7 Let's face facts: It wasn't a very funny joke. But I think it would be hilarious if these guys were raped by dogs. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2006-11-24 13:54 |
| #6 You've just given birth to a new thingy, LOD. :-) |
| Posted by: .com 2006-11-24 12:29 |
| #5 The guy's about as funny as Michael Richards. |
| Posted by: Lancasters Over Dresden 2006-11-24 12:12 |
| #4 Even if true (and it's not, 99,9999% probality of that), that tells a lot that terror is a joke for such Pious, Moderate Muslims... next thing you know, random muslims will start acting suspiciously while on plane, to freak out the kufrs, 'coz terror is a joke... |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2006-11-24 07:52 |
| #3 Another |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-11-24 02:34 |
| #2 Yeah, them Germans are known for their sense of humor... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2006-11-24 00:44 |
| #1 Terror accused in Germany: plot was a 'joke' Judge in Germany: any time you spend behind bars will be just as much of a 'joke', too! |
| Posted by: gorb 2006-11-24 00:32 |