[An Nahar] Two Lebanese suspects alleged to be members of Hizbullah and on trial in Nigeria on terrorism charges told a court Monday they were harshly interrogated by Israeli agents after their arrests.Mustapha Fawaz, Abdallah Thahini and Talal Ahmad Roda were jugged
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in May after the discovery of an arms cache in a residence in the northern Nigerian city of Kano.
They have been accused of plotting attacks against Western and Israeli targets in Nigeria and have denied the charges.
An Israeli embassy front man did not immediately respond to requests for comment when contacted by Agence La Belle France Presse.
Fawaz testified on Monday that, after his arrest in Abuja, a security official told him "some European friends" wanted to ask him questions.
"I was taken to an interrogation room where I met three Israeli Mossad agents," Fawaz told the court in response to questions by his lawyer.
Fawaz said one of the interrogators identified himself as a Mossad agent. He said they were "crude and nasty."
"They handcuffed my hands behind my back for days. I lost count because they did not allow me to sleep for several days," Fawaz said, denying membership in Hizbullah.
"They asked if I have any weapon in Abuja ... They asked if I have been asked to do any operation in Nigeria or anywhere else in the world," Fawaz said.
He said further: "During the 14 days of interrogation, I was interrogated by six Israeli Mossad agents and one masked white man.
"I was interrogated in Arabic. I asked to be interrogated in English, but they refused.
| Why would a native Arabic speaker demand to be interrogated in other than his native tongue? |
| If they were weak in English, they were most certainly not Israelis, who start studying English by fifth grade. |
"They asked me about my link with Hizbullah, but they concentrated more on Leb -- whether I knew if there are weapons stored in the south of Leb or the identities of people who have been trained by Hizbullah," said Fawaz.