Suspected members of al-Qaeda cell deny charges at Casablanca appeal court
Morocco, Local, 2/6/2003

A group of three Saudis and three Moroccans, currently standing trial at the Casablanca court of appeal denied on Tuesday that they are members of Al Qaeda group.

One of the defendants, Zouhair Tabiti, however, conceded that he met Usama Ben Laden in Afghanistan in 2000 but denied that he bought chemical products to make explosive devices.

In Tuesday's session that heard accounts of the defendants, two of the three Moroccan suspects said they had business relations with the Saudis, while a third one said his relations with Zouhair Tabiti is only part of "religious affinities and solidarity with a Muslim facing a financial crisis."

The trial was opened last October 28 after the group was arrested last June and accused of preparing terrorist acts in Morocco and against western ships crossing the Gibraltar strait.

The Moroccan interior ministry announced that the Al Qaeda cell infiltrated Morocco to prepare terrorist acts inside Morocco and against western ships crossing the strait of Gibraltar.

Previous Stories:
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  Trial of suspected al-Qaeda operatives put off again   (1/30/2003)

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