lunes, 7 de octubre de 2013

Theresa May Faces Questions Over Terror Suspect - Sky News

Home Secretary Theresa May is to be questioned by MPs over why one of the world's most wanted al Qaeda terror suspects - captured by US Navy SEALs - was given asylum in Britain.

Anas al Libi, who was seized at the weekend in the Libyan capital Tripoli, arrived in Britain in the mid-1990s and lived in Manchester after being granted political asylum, according to reports.

The 49-year-old was accused by the US of involvement in the 1998 American embassy bombings in east Africa which killed more than 220 people.

Al Libi, also known as Nazih Abdul Hamed al Ruqai, was arrested by the Metropolitan Police the following year but was released and later fled Britain.

Detectives are believed to have found an al Qaeda manual at his home which advised Osama bin Laden's followers on how to execute terror plots.

Home Secretary Theresa May
Theresa May will come under pressure to answer the concerns next Tuesday

Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said the case would be raised with Mrs May when she appears before MPs.

In a statement, the Labour MP said: "This case raises serious questions about the motives behind asylum and national security decisions in the UK.

"It is not the first time that someone, who has been brought to the attention of the authorities and released, has gone on to be linked to further terrorist activity.

"I will be raising these concerns with the Home Secretary when she appears before the Committee on the 15th October."

Al Libi was on the FBI's Most Wanted list and there was a $5m (£3.1m) bounty on his head.

US prosecutors claimed the computer expert aided the east Africa bombings by carrying out research and taking photographs of the embassy in Nairobi in 1993.

FBI most wanted list
The US suspects al Libi of being an al Qaeda leader

His family have denied he was ever a member of al Qaeda but was part of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, an Islamic militant group opposed to Muammar Gaddafi.

Many of the organisation's members were forced to flee the country, and al Libi is believed to have spent time in Sudan in the 1990s before moving to Britain.

His son, Abdullah al Ruqai, said his father had hired a lawyer and was trying to clear his name in connection to the 1998 embassy attacks.

"My father is not objecting to be tried but he should be tried in Libya in front of a Libyan court," he said.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry has said the capture of al Libi was "appropriate and legal" after officials in Tripoli demanded answers as to why he was taken away.

Libya's government insisted the raids had no official authorisation and a source close to al Libi claimed he was "kidnapped" while returning from dawn prayers.

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