By VOA News
22 May 2005
German authorities have arrested a Palestinian man in connection with an alleged al-Qaeda plot to carry out a suicide attack in Iraq.
German federal prosecutors said Sunday they had arrested a stateless Palestinian identified only as 28-year-old Ismail Abu S. The prosecutors said they believe he took part in an insurance scam to raise money for the intended operation.
They added that they will conduct further investigations to determine whether he was aware of the al-Qaeda connection.
German authorities previously arrested the man's brother and an Iraqi alleged to have ties to al-Qaeda.
Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.
Sun May 22, 2005
DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Syrian authorities arrested the chief of the Arab Organization of Human Rights in Syria (AOHRS) on Sunday, the group said in statement.
"A political security unit of four and a driver entered the office of lawyer Mohammad Raadoun, the president of AOHRS, and escorted him to the political security office in (the port city of) Latakia," it said.
"We urge all honorable people for solidarity with us in a campaign for his release," the statement said.
Officials were not immediately available for comment.
Ammar Qurabi, the head of the group's media office, said he believed the arrest was related to statements issued by the group about the arrest of returning Islamist dissidents.
Syria told its embassies in March to facilitate the return of exiles, in what campaigners saw as a de facto amnesty for dissidents who had fled the country.
Rights activists say hundreds of Syrians living abroad for political reasons have taken advantage of the opportunity, but some have come back only to find themselves behind bars.
The group became active after President Bashar al-Assad introduced a measure of reform after assuming power in 2000 and freed hundred of political prisoners. The authorities later cracked down on activists, rights groups say.
© Reuters 2005