Posted on 09/25/2002 11:29:19 AM PDT by NYer
MADRID, Spain (AP) _ Two al-Qaida suspects who allegedly shot video of U.S. landmarks and passed the tapes along to leaders preparing for the Sept. 11 attacks have been freed on bail, officials said Wednesday. One of the men, Ghasoub Al-Abrash Ghalyoun, was suspected of filming U.S. landmarks to plan for the attacks. The other, Mohamen Khair al-Saqq, allegedly passed the videotapes along to al-Qaida leaders.
The men posted the $146,550 bail on Monday, hours after it was set, the Department of Penitentiary Institutions reported. They and one other man had previously been held in preventative custody _ meaning no bail was set. The third suspect, Abdalrahman Alarnaot Abu-Aljer, remained in custody. Police have said Ghalyoun went to the United States in 1997 and shot at least five videotapes showing the Golden Gate bridge, the Sears Tower, the World Trade Center and other famous sites. The videos show too much detail to have been meant as souvenirs, police say. Police say they believe al-Saqq passed the videos on to al-Qaida's leadership in Afghanistan because he was visited by a courier from Osama bin Laden several months after Ghalyoun's trip. Both were born in Syria.
The suspects, who were detained last July, have been ordered to report to judicial authorities every 15 days and may not leave Spain. Their passports remain in possession of the court, although border controls between Spain its European Union neighbors no longer exist.
Spanish magistrates are required to release suspects after most of the relevant evidence has been collected and there is no reasonable suspicion they might jump bail or commit offenses. El Mundo newspaper reported that the investigative judge set bail because he had been unable to prove the videos or copies had been seen by al-Qaida's leaders. National Court officials refused to comment on the case.
AP-ES-09-25-02 1407EDT
They've named 3 out of 5 ... any guesses as to the other two?
Follow the money...trace back.
Unfortunately the US Gov lacks the backbone to take out a group as high profile as this. It sickens me that they were released and I hope that Deguello’s previous comment “follow the money” is carried through. Just the fact that this sum was covered for their bail is a pretty good indication that there is strong interest in getting them out of Spain. If I were a gambling man (and I am) these guys may be bumped off; but not by our special forces. Im guessing we would like to keep them alive to gather any information we can from them. The group sponsoring them might not see it the same way.
You make a good point. Perhaps it should be "leaked" to the press that the US and Britain are very grateful to these guys for their ongoing cooperation, and see how long it takes before they disappear from the "street".
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