Casablanca court carries on hearings of Al Qaeda operatives suspects
Morocco, Local, 2/7/2003

The Casablanca court of appeal carried on Wednesday hearing to a group of Saudi and Moroccan nationals accused of being members of Al Qaeda group.

The group includes three Saudis and seven Moroccan nationals, including three women.

Naima Haroune, wife of one of the Saudi suspect, Hilal Jaber Alassiri, said she traveled with her husband to Saudi Arabia and then to Afghanistan where they stayed for more than 3 months at the house of a man named Abu Omar --AKA Abu Aassem-- who is reportedly one of Usama Ben Laden's body guards.

The wife of Zouhair Hilal Mohamed, Bahija Haidour, conceded that she asked her sister to burn a suitcase and a luggage belonging to her husband when she knew the police was searching for them.

She also told the court her husband had told her he was a "mujaheed" without giving her further details and that she traveled with him to Fnideq (northern Morocco) and Nador (northeastern Morocco). Her sister, Houria Haidour, conceded she burnt the suitcase and the bag as her sister asked her to do.

Another Moroccan suspect, a border police agent named Abdellah Abed, who is accused of stamping a faked Saudi passport in exchange of 200 DH (US$ 20) denied all the charges laid against him.

The court also presented evidence items, including products that can be used in the manufacturing of explosive devices, and test tubes. The defendant Zouhair Tabiti denied that he possessed the items.

The coming session was set for February 7.

On Tuesday, the defendants denied that they are members of Al Qaeda group. A member of the group, 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:
  Suspected members of al-Qaeda cell deny charges at Casablanca appeal court   (2/6/2003)
  Moroccan Jewish community fully subscribes to Morocco's development drives (berdugo)   (2/5/2003)
  600 kg of Cannabis Resin Found in Southern Morocco   (1/30/2003)

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