Posted on 03/28/2004 11:46:51 AM PST by Murtyo
A man charged with the Madrid train bombings was monitored by the Gardai when he lived in Ireland in the 1990s, according to garda sources.
The Sunday Business Post has learned that Moroccanborn suspect Mohamed Bekkali (31) was brought up in Dublin, where he was arrested at least once.
"He was educated here, sat his Intermediate and Leaving Certificate, and later became the most prominent of the Moroccans," a garda source disclosed.
The source would not say why Bekkali was arrested or when he left the country.
"The general feeling here is that people would rather this was played down," the source said
It is believed that Bekkali's Irish connections will be investigated as part of the probe into the massacre on March 11.
Bekkali is one of three people facing preliminary charges of involvement in the train bombings.
He arr ived in court on March 13, shouting: "I am innocent. I am innocent."
Agency reports described him as an avid Real Madrid fan who asked for David Beckham's autograph two weeks before the bombings and adopted the nickname "Bekks".
Bekkali was arrested with two other Moroccans, Jamal Zougam and his stepbrother Mohamed Chaoui, two days after the explosions. All three face preliminary charges of 190 murders - the number of bodies so far identified - and 1,400 attempted murders.
They have been linked with an unexploded mobile phone bomb recovered from one of the trains.The phone, a Motorola Triumph, and its Sim card were traced to a shop run by Zougam, Chaoui and Bekkali.
Under Spanish law,they can be held for two consecutive two-year periods before being formally charged.
Media reports alleged the three men were linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network through its alleged leader in Britain, Abu Dahdah. He was arrested two months after the September 11 attacks on New York in 2001 and was a regular visitor to Britain.
Dahdah's alleged role was to recruit young Islamic activists to training camps in Afghanistan and other countries, and to collect money for the organisation. The reports claimed his network offered lodgings and false papers to activists travelling through Spain and other countries where he had contacts. He is said to have linked up with the Madrid suspects three years ago.
The activities of Bekkali and up to 30 alleged Islamic fundamentalists in Ireland are expected to be examined as part of the wider probe into the Madrid massacre.
"It is very difficult to take action against them.The legislation is still not effective in terms of arresting people on suspicion of being involved in these groups," a Special Branch source said.
In 2002, it emerged that a man with an Irish passport had attended a secret meeting in Spain with Mohammed Atta six months before the attacks on the World Trade Center. The Spanish daily, El Pais, quoted Spanish intelligence sources as saying the attacks were plotted at this meeting.
Yes, pretend like it never happened and maybe it'll all go away.
Who threw the overalls
In Missus Murphy's chowder ?
Nobody answered
So he shouted all the louder:
Tis an Irish trick, That's true:
I can lick the Mick who threw
The overalls in Missus Murphy's
Chow...der !!
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