Denmark Charges 4 With Plotting Attack

A Danish prosecutor on Thursday charged four young Muslims with helping to supply weapons and explosives for a planned terror attack in Europe.

Five other suspects in the case have been charged in Bosnia, including two men accused of preparing to blow up an unidentified European target. Three other suspects have been charged in Britain.

Prosecutor Henning Fode said the four men arrested in Denmark last October helped the two main suspects in Bosnia get hold of "weapons and explosives with the aim of committing a terror act."

All four, who cannot be named under a court order, have denied wrongdoing. Danish investigators have released little information about the suspects, but said two of them are 17, and the others are aged 20 and 21.

If convicted they could face life in prison, although such sentences are commuted after 16 years under Danish law. A trial date has not yet been set.

The probe stems from the Oct. 19 arrests in Sarajevo of Swedish national Mirsad Bektasevic, 19, and Abdulkadir Cesur, an 18-year-old Turkish national living in Denmark.

Bosnian prosecutors said Bektasevic and Cesur were planning an attack in Bosnia-Herzegovina or at some other unidentified site in Europe with the aim of forcing the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Police raiding their Sarajevo apartment allegedly found a suicide bomber belt, explosives, firearms and other military equipment, as well as a videotape showing masked men asking for God's forgiveness.

The four suspects in Denmark were arrested Oct. 27 after a tip from the Bosnian police. Three other suspects were arrested in Denmark, but have been released. It was not immediately clear whether they also faced charges.

Danish intelligence agents wiretapped their telephones, and said three of them had telephone contacts with Bektasevic and met with him three times in Denmark.

Authorities in Denmark, Sweden, Bosnia and Britain have been cooperating in the investigation.

In Britain, Younis Tsouli and Waseem Mughal are charged with conspiracy to murder and cause an explosion in an alleged plot to mount a terrorist bomb attack. The third defendant, Tariq Al-Daour, faces less serious charges, including conspiracy to obtain money by deception and possession of money for terrorist purposes.

I understand you comments, FairOpinion.

===

ON THE NET...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=annadiggstaylor

===
===

http://www.freecongress.org/commentaries/2006/060823.asp
"Terrorism Over Kingship – 43 Pages of Near Rant"
By Marion Edwyn Harrison, Esq.
August 23, 2006

===
===

Note: The following text is a quote:
---

http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2006/August/06_ag_550.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 2006
WWW.USDOJ.GOV
AG
(202) 514-2007
TDD (202) 514-1888
Statement from the Department of Justice on Yesterday’s Ruling on the Terrorist Surveillance Program

The Terrorist Surveillance Program is a critical tool that ensures we have in place an early warning system to detect and prevent a terrorist attack. In the ongoing conflict with al-Qaeda and its allies, the President has the primary duty under the Constitution to protect the American people. The Constitution gives the President the full authority necessary to carry out that solemn duty, and we believe the program is lawful and protects civil liberties. Because the Terrorist Surveillance Program is an essential tool for the intelligence community in the War on Terror, the Department of Justice has appealed the District Court's order. The parties have also agreed to a stay of the injunction until the District Court can hear the Department's motion for a stay pending appeal.

###

06-550

===
===

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=24040

"Why Britain Stopped the Terror Plot"
By Insight Magazine
Insight Magazine | August 25, 2006

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The Homeland Security Department has neither the legal nor technical tools to match the British capture of terrorist operatives before they were about to blow up passenger airliners.

Officials said U.S. law would not have allowed the FBI to conduct the type of surveillance that led Britain to uncover the al Qaeda cell and capture what could be the network’s chief. They said the department also does not have the funding to detect new types of bombs used by al Qaeda.

''What helped the British in this case is the ability to be nimble, to be fast, to be flexible, to operate based on fast-moving information,'' Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said.

Officials said British authorities have greater powers of surveillance and investigation, which facilitated the capture of more than 20 suspected al Qaeda plotters. In contrast, they said, Congress has been reviewing the Bush administration's warrantless eavesdropping program and military tribunals.

On Aug. 17, U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor ruled in Detroit that the National Security Agency's wiretap program was unconstitutional and ordered that it be halted. The administration plans to appeal the decision.

"If this program were to be halted, it would hamper our ability to foil terrorist plots," said Sen. Mike DeWine, Ohio Republican and member of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee. "It is a critical tool to prevent America from being attacked.""

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.