Last week three Muslim conscripts of the Austrian army refused to salute the Austrian flag because this was incompatible with their faith. The Austrian paper Die Presse (18 March) reported that three soldiers of the Maria Theresia barracks, where most of the 1,000 Muslim soldiers serve, refused to salute the flag at a parade and instead turned their backs on it. The soldiers were not disciplined. However, an imam was summoned to issue a fatwa stating that Muslims are allowed to salute the Austrian flag.
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http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/928
Germany: 100 Firms Involved In Illegal Arms Exports To Iran
Berlin, 22 March
As many as 100 dummy firms in Germany are involved in illegally exporting components for missiles and aircraft to Iran, according to security experts interviewed by German public broadcaster ARAD, quoted by the German Deutsche Welle radio station's website. Most of the exports were designed to refine and perfect Iran's missile programme - considered by many to be a key part of the country's ambitions to establish itself as a major nuclear and military power.
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http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Politics&loid=
The Algerian amnesty of terrorists is a recipe for disaster Among the terrorists recently freed by Algeria (part of the general amnesty), two in particular were vital for French authorities. For that reason diplomatic tension is palpable between Paris and Algiers.
Indeed, the two individuals, Mohamed Benyamina and Akil Chraibi, were part of two major cells recently dismantled in France. The first one was part of the Bourrada cell (which I wrote on here) which had planned terror attacks against the Paris-Orly airport, the Paris subway and the DST (French equivalent to the FBI) headquarters. The second one is a student in Montpellier, France, who was arrested in Algeria while providing the GSPC with explosive devices. French authorities are also concerned about the possibility of some potential dangerous individuals entering French territory.
Finally yesterday the GSPC called all the amnestied militants to join the ranks of the terrorist group. Algerian authorities might not have to wait long to regret their ill-advised decision.
http://counterterror.typepad.com/the_counterterrorism_blog/2006/03/the_algerian_am.html
Anti-terrorism officials meet in Colombia to discuss hemispheric security
Mar. 22, 2006
BOGOTA, Colombia
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe kicked off a meeting Wednesday with anti-terrorism officials from 34 countries in the Western Hemisphere, calling terrorism an "affliction" that conspires against democracy and economic development.
Sponsored by the Organization of American States, the sixth regular session of the Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism will focus on promoting security at tourist destinations and illegal arms trafficking in the hemisphere
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http://www.ice.gov/graphics/news/newsreleases/articles/060321la.htm
News Release
March 21, 2006
LOS ANGELES MAN CHARGED FOR ATTEMPTING TO SHIP SENSITIVE TECHNOLOGY TO IRAN
Joint ICE-FBI probe uncovers scheme involving illegal export of pressure sensors
LOS ANGELES - A Los Angeles man was arraigned in federal court here yesterday for his role in a scheme to illegally export more than 100 Honeywell sensors to Iran in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). According to the manufacturer, the sensors, which detect the pressure of liquid or gas, could potentially be used to detonate explosive devices.
Mohammad Fazeli, 27, was arrested March 16 at his Los Angeles apartment by agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Fazeli was named in a three-count indictment handed down March 9 charging him with violating the IEEPA, conspiracy, and making false statements.
The indictment alleges that Fazeli ordered 103 pressure sensors in September 2004 through a website operated by an electronics company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. According to the indictment, Fazeli told an unindicted co-conspirator that he had been contacted by a representative from that company advising him that he needed a license in order to export the devices. Despite that, after receiving the parts, Fazeli allegedly attempted to send them to the United Arab Emirates, with the understanding that the devices would ultimately be shipped to Iran.
Under the IEEPA, Iran has been subject to a trade embargo by the United States since the late 1970s. The Iranian Transactions Regulations expressly prohibit the sale, supply, or transshipment of any goods, technology, or services to Iran without prior authorization by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Investigators say Fazeli had not received the required prior approval from the Treasury Department to export the pressure sensors.
“One of ICE's top enforcement priorities is preventing terrorist groups and hostile nations from illegally obtaining U.S. military products and sensitive technology,” said Kevin Kozak, deputy special agent in charge for ICE investigations in Los Angeles. “In the wrong hands, components like these pressure sensors could be used to inflict harm upon America or its allies.”
"The charges in this case are a result of the hard work of committed agents from separate agencies working toward the same goal of preventing the illegal export of a potentially harmful device," said J. Stephen Tidwell, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI in Los Angeles.
Fazeli, who remains free on $50,000 bond, is scheduled to go on trial April 25.
ICE's Arms and Strategic Technology Investigations (ASTI) Unit is responsible for investigating the illegal export of U.S. military products and sensitive technology. In fiscal year 2004, ICE's ASTI Unit worked on more than 2,500 such investigations.
Just last week a federal jury in San Diego found Arif Ali Durrani guilty of multiple violations of the Arms Export Control Act for illegally exporting military aircraft parts from the United States to the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, and Belgium. At the trial, ICE agents testified that many of the military components in Durrani's illegal export plot were ultimately destined for Iran.
-- ICE --