Saudi confirms it is holding man FBI wants over alleged links to Sept. 11 hijackers

The Boston Herald ^ | August 25, 2002 | AP writer

[spald]

Saudi confirms it is holding man FBI wants over alleged links to Sept. 11 hijackers

Associated Press
Sunday, August 25, 2002

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - The Saudi Interior Ministry on Sunday confirmed it is holding a 21-year-old Saudi man the FBI is seeking for alleged links to the Sept. 11 hijackers.

Authorities are interrogating Saud Abdulaziz Saud al-Rasheed ``and if it is proven that he was connected to terrorism, he will be referred to the sharia (Islamic) court,'' the official Saudi Press Agency quoted an unidentified ministry official as saying.

In Washington, the FBI said it was cooperating with Saudi officials. ``Our legal attache in Riyadh is working in concert with the Saudi officials and the State Department, and we can confirm he is in custody,'' said FBI spokeswoman Debbie Weierman.

On Saturday, al-Rasheed's father said his son had surrendered voluntarily to the Interior Ministry on Thursday in his hometown of Riyadh.

The ministry official said al-Rasheed has been in custody since Thursday, but did not say if he surrendered or was detained.

Initial investigations had shown al-Rasheed traveled to Afghanistan in June 2000 and returned to Saudi Arabia the following June, but that he had never traveled to America, the agency report said without elaborating further.

Al-Rasheed's father said Saturday his son was innocent of any connections to terrorists and had turned himself in after learning of the FBI's worldwide alert for his arrest, issue Tuesday.

The FBI bulletin said al-Rasheed was suspected of being ``associated with the September 11, 2001 hijackers'' and warned that he should be considered armed and dangerous.

The alert was issued after an image of al-Rasheed's Saudi passport was found among material ``previously recovered during the war on terrorism'' connected to the Sept. 11 hijackers.

America has blamed the Pentagon and World Trade Center attacks on al-Qaida, the terror group led by Saudi exile Osama bin Laden.

Saudi Arabia - a key U.S. ally in the Gulf and home to 15 of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers - has defended itself against accusations in the American media and policy circles that it is not doing enough to crack down on suspected militants within its borders.

Earlier this month, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said the kingdom was holding 16 suspected al-Qaida members transferred from Iran because they were Saudi nationals.

It wasn't clear if U.S. investigators would be allowed to interview the suspects or if they had sought permission to do so.

During an investigation into the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing that killed 19 U.S. servicemen, no American investigators were allowed access to suspects in Saudi jails.

[spald]

"Authorities are interrogating Saud Abdulaziz Saud al-Rasheed ``and if it is proven that he was connected to terrorism, he will be referred to the sharia (Islamic) court."This should prove enlightening.

[weikel]

Bet this guy is a smoking gun on how the royal family planned 9/11. No American LEO will ever interrogate him.

[spald]

What will the sharia impose to deal with terrorism? Off with his head, cut out his tongue or secrete him out to a training center for improved methodology? I agree, this guy will never be interviewed by USLEOs.

[ccmay]

if it is proven that he was connected to terrorism, he will be referred to the sharia (Islamic) court

I have a better idea. Hand him over by 0800 tomorrow or face the destruction of Mecca and the confiscation of your oil fields.

-ccm