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January 24, 2008

Germany: Al Qaeda-Linked Islamist Jailed

On July 8, 2006 a man of Moroccan descent was arrested at Hamburg train station. He was only named as "Redouane E.H.", then aged 36. He was said to have had links to an individual called Said Bahaji, who was an associate of the 9/11 "Hamburg Cell". Bahaji had fled Germany eight days prior to 9/11.

Redouane E.H. was a resident of Kiel in northern Germany. Between 1996 and 2004 he attended the University of Kiel. At the time of his 2006 arrest, prosecutor's office spokeswoman Frake Scheuten said that several addresses in Kiel had been searched.

Scheuten said: "The accused had numerous contacts with the international network of violent jihadis, among other places in Syria, Algeria and Iraq. At the end of November 2005, he completed explosives training at a camp operated by a terrorist network in Algeria. He is seriously suspected of supporting the al-Qaeda foreign terrorist network through recruiting fighters for suicide attacks in Iraq and through financial payments."

Redouane E.H. had also had a "function as an intermediary for messages between the separately pursued Said Bahaji, and his wife. He knows that he, in order to keep his location secret, could only continue contact with his wife through an intermediary who was trained in conspiratorial techniques. Only a person from al-Qaeda's logistical network could be entrusted with such a confidential task."

Most of the evidence used to arrest Redouane E.H. had come from monitoring his email conversations, and it was implied that the reason for his arrest came as he was apparently intending to leave Germany. AT the time, his destination was not mentioned. It has since been revealed that Redouane E.H. was intending to go to Sudan.

As well as attending Kiel University Redouane E.H. had also attended Marburg University. He had married a German woman, whom he divorced in 2001. He was said to have become radicalized in 2003, following the death of his brother.

On Wednesday July 25, 2007, Redouane E.H. stood trial in Schleswig-Holstein Higher Regional Court in Schleswig. He was accused of raising funds for Al Qaeda and recruiting individuals to send to Iraq to join the Islamist insurgency.

Between August 2005 and July 2006 he had violated German export laws by transferring 5,000 Euros ($6,800) to Egypt and Syria. These were to supply equipment for Islamists recruited within Morocco and Egypt, to pay for explosives and a people-smuggler.

In August 2005, Redouane E.H. had sworn allegiance to Mullah Omar, the one-eyed leader of the Taliban, the prosecution claimed. Additionally, he had used a Kiel internet cafe to communicate with terrorist groups in various countries. A total of 513,000 internet conversations had been gathered from the server, with a third of these processed by the time the trial had started.

Today, according to Reuters, Xinhua News and Expatica, the court in Schlewswig sentenced Redouane E.H. to 69 months in prison. This fell short of the 78 months requested by the prosecution.

Expatica maintains that his 2005 oath of loyalty had been made to Osama bin Laden. He was convicted of supporting Al Qaeda in Iraq, setting up a terrorist group and paying an Algerian linked to Al Qaeda to train him in explosives manufacture. His group, based in Sudan, raised funds for jihad. Four of his associates were arrested in Sweden and Germany before they could do "harm". The associates are to be tried separately in Germany.

According to Associated Press "Last May, Sweden handed over a suspected accomplice of Redouane E.H. who prosecutors said helped him supply foreign fighters to Iraq and found the terrorist group in Sudan."

Two individuals were handed over to Germany by Swedish authorities last year. In April, 2007 a 32-year old Jordanian man known only as Thaer A, was handed over. This individual (like Redouane E.H.) was said to have been monitored by German authorities via Internet chatrooms, connected with "the surveillance of a Moroccan man who is now also being held on charges of supporting Al-Qaeda". Thaer A. had been arrested on March 19 under a European warrant. The Swedish prosecutor's office claimed that Thaer A. had been acting "on the orders of Osama bin Laden".

A second individual was handed over to Germany from Sweden, according to an announcement from German federal prosecutors, on Friday May 18, 2007. The day before his rendition, he had been interviewed by German prosecutors in connection with Redouane E. H. This man was identified as a 32-year old Moroccan called Abdelai Miftah. The prosecutors had claimed that Miftah had been to recruit jihadist fighters from eastern Germany when Redouane E.H. went to Sudan. They confirmed that Thaer A. was also suspected of involvement of planning the cell in Sudan.

During his trial, Redouane E.H. admitted swearing an oath of allegiance to Osama bin Laden, but said he had received no direct contact with Al Qaeda.

According to Judge Mathias Hohmann, Redouane E.H.'s network was the "breeding ground of Al Qaeda in Sudan."

Redouane E.H., who holds German nationality, claimed that his actions had been "adventurous foolishness". At the end of the trial he admitted: "From today's perspective, I realize it was bizarre lunacy. I just don't understand how I ever got involved in it."

Judge Hohmann said that Redouane E.H.'s conviction was the first to have been made in Germany based on the evidence provided by internet conversations. During the trial, Redouane E.H. had told the court of code words that were used in these conversations, such as "taxi driver" to refer to a suicide bomber.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at January 24, 2008 7:24 PM

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Posted by: Aunty Belle at January 25, 2008 10:37 AM

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