UK 'terror kingpin' sold CDs in Joburg August 2, 2005 <http://www.thestar.co.za/site/7/images/authors/author290> By Alameen Templeton
Haroon Rashid Aswat - the man believed to have co-ordinated the London bombing sprees in which 56 people died - is known in Fordsburg, Johannesburg, as "a nice family man". Aswat made his living selling Islamic CDs and DVDs at fleamarkets around Joburg and in neighbouring countries, a business associate said yesterday. Ahmed Al Arine, who says he was interrogated for three days by South African intelligence agents last week, said he had helped Aswat sell CDs from a stall on Fordsburg Square and was shocked by the allegations levelled against him. Al Arine, a refugee from Jordan seeking asylum in South Africa, described Aswat as "a nice person" and said he had never expressed any interest in radical Islam in the five months he had known the alleged bomber. London police, however, are determined to question him because the July 7 bombers allegedly made a total of about 20 calls to his cellphone shortly before the bombings. US authorities also want to question him, accusing Aswat of trying to establish an al-Qaeda-style training camp in Bly, Oregon. Zambian police confirmed they were holding Aswat, who was arrested on July 20 in Lusaka. He is due to be extradited to Britain after Zambia's interior minister yesterday signed a document handing over custody of the suspect to Britain. British newspapers reported at the weekend that Aswat had told his Zambian captors he was once a bodyguard for al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Al Arine is in hiding after he claimed he was subjected to intense interrogation sessions at a police station in Pretoria. He said he was arrested by police on July 24 without a warrant and was duped into giving them a blood sample for DNA purposes. Al Arine's apartment in Randburg was searched and CDs, DVDs, documents and his computer hard drive were taken, all without a warrant, he claimed. He had laid a complaint with the police's Independent Complaints Directorate, which probes allegations against the police. Al Arine's ordeal has, however, allowed a snapshot of Aswat to emerge, which shows he has business dealings that require him to move across borders and in and out of Islamic communities with relative ease. Aswat has a family in South Africa and is believed to have left the country about a month ago, ostensibly to make business contacts on the fleamarket circuit in Botswana. Al Arine said yesterday he was introduced to Aswat by his grandmother and had known him to be a soft-spoken man "of good habits", who was very private. "He was a quiet person. He didn't like anyone to interfere in his life. He always was very secretive, but he was very nice and he was fair with everything that he did with me," Al Arine said. <http://red.as-eu.falkag.net/red?cmd=url&flg=0&&rdm=86179594&dlv=631,17579,1 14393,136456,657807&kid=136456&chw=9136456-&tcs=&bls3=000000B&bls4=000002114 389&ucl=111111A&uid=1&dmn=.asdp219.sra.com&scx=1400&scy=1050&scc=32&jav=1&st a=,,,1,,,,,,,0,0,0,26731,26516,14659,25167,511&iid=114393&bid=657807&dat=htt p%3A//www.directquote.co.za/emailquote.asp%3Fvdn%3D5925%26tel%3D0860%252010% 252037%252063> <http://red.as-eu.falkag.net/dat/bgf/trpix.gif?&rdm=86179594&dlv=631,17579,1 14393,136456,657807&kid=136456&chw=9136456-&tcs=&bls3=000000B&bls4=000002114 389&ucl=111111A&uid=1&dmn=.asdp219.sra.com&scx=1400&scy=1050&scc=32&jav=1&st a=,,,1,,,,,,,0,0,0,26731,26516,14659,25167,511&iid=114393&bid=657807> Aswat was introduced to him as Yahya and he had called him by that name in the five months he had known him, he said. "Sometimes I hear his family call him Haroon, and his granny said to me that this is because he looks like another Haroon in the family," Al Arine said. Asked if Aswat had ever spoken to him about al-Qaeda or radical Islamic issues, Al Arine said: "Never. He didn't speak about these things. He was only concentrating on business - DVDs and CDs. It was for me to manage Joburg, and he had all the fetes and stalls outside Joburg and in Botswana," he said. Aswat left for Botswana about four weeks ago and suddenly "disappeared". Al Arine started getting phone calls from Aswat's worried family, wanting to know if he had heard from his partner. All of Al Arine's calls to Aswat went unanswered. Al Arine was arrested nine days ago as he, his wife and young daughter went to Joburg International Airport to pick up a friend. Five cars surrounded him and about 25 policemen from the Crime Intelligence Unit climbed out, pointing assault rifles at him. Al Arine was forced to the ground, and when he wanted to know what he had done wrong, the police told him the orders to arrest him had "come from the president". He was taken back to his flat and the police seized all kinds of documentation and carted them off. His wife was told that if she ever wanted to see her husband again, she must not tell anyone of the arrests, Al Arine added. While he was being interrogated, Al Arine was asked if he knew Ibrahim Abubaker Tantouche. The US has accused Tantouche of being Bin Laden's banker, which he denies. Tantouche manages a stall in Fordsburg Square next to Al Arine's stand, but they were only passing acquaintances. Al Arine at first denied knowing Tantouche, because he knew him only by one of his names, Ibrahim. But his interrogators were adamant, showing he had made a call to Tantouche. Al Arine realised who the police were talking about only when they showed him a photograph. Abeda Bhamjee, Al Arine's lawyer from the Wits Law Clinic, said she was concerned about the way the rights of Muslim and other foreign nationals were being infringed by police action. Safety and Security Department spokesperson Director Sally de Beer refused to comment yesterday. But Trevor Bloem, from the Ministry of Safety and Security, said no police action was above the law and he would be very concerned if human rights were being abused. Al Arine has since been released and says all his documentation - other than his computer hard drive and his car registration papers - have been handed back to him. http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=128 <http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=128&fArticleId=2813551> &fArticleId=2813551 _____ SA life of UK bomb suspect August 2, 2005 By Alameen Templeton Johannesburg: A business associate of alleged London bombings mastermind Haroon Rashid Aswat is in hiding in South Africa after being interrogated for three days by intelligence officials. Ahmed Al Arine, a refugee from Jordan who is seeking asylum in South Africa, said yesterday he was arrested by police without a warrant on July 24 and was duped into giving them a blood sample for DNA testing purposes. He described Aswat as "a nice person" and said the alleged bomber had never expressed any interest in radical lslam in the five months he had known him. London police, however, are determined to question Aswat as four of the July 7 bombers allegedly made about 20 calls to his cellphone. US authorities also want to question Aswat - they have accused him of trying to establish an al-Qaeda-style training camp in Seattle, Washington. Al Arine's apartment in Randburg, Johannesburg, was also searched and CDs, DVDs, documents and his computer hard drive were taken, all without a warrant being shown to him, he said. He had laid a complaint with the police's Independent Complaints Directorate, which investigates allegations made by the public against the police. Al Arine's ordeal has, however, allowed a snapshot of Aswat to emerge that shows he has business dealings that require him to move across borders and in and out of Islamic communities. Aswat has family in South Africa and makes a living selling Islamic CDs and DVDs at fleamarkets and fairs around Johannesburg and in neighbouring countries. He left South Africa about a month ago, ostensibly to make business contacts on the fleamarket circuit in Botswana. Al Arine said yesterday he was introduced to Aswat by his grandmother and had known him to be a soft-spoken man "of good habits" who was assiduous about his privacy. "He was a very quiet person. He didn't like anyone to interfere in his life. He always was very secretive, but he was very nice and he was fair with everything that he did with me. He was a nice person," Al Arine said. Aswat was introduced to him as Yahya and he had called him by that name in the five months that he had known him, he said. "Sometimes I hear his family call him Haroon and his granny said to me this is because he looks like another Haroon in the family," Al Arine said. Asked if Aswat had ever spoken to him about al-Qaeda or radical Islamic issues, Al Arine said: "Never. He didn't speak about these things. He was only concentrating on business - DVDs and CDs. It was for me to manage Johannesburg and he had all the fetes and stalls around Johannesburg and in Botswana first, wherever the fair travels." Aswat left for Botswana about four weeks ago and suddenly "disappeared". Al Arine started getting worried phone calls from Aswat's family, wanting to know if he had heard from his partner. All Al Arine's calls to Aswat went unanswered. Al Arine was arrested nine days ago as he, his wife and young daughter went to Johannesburg International Airport to pick up a friend. Five cars surrounded him and about 25 policemen from the Crime Intelligence Unit climbed out, pointing assault rifles at him. Al Arine was forced to the ground and when he asked what he had done wrong, the police told him the orders to arrest him had "come from the president". <http://red.as-eu.falkag.net/red?cmd=url&flg=0&&rdm=51455086&dlv=631,17573,1 12427,136448,657721&kid=136448&chw=9136448-&tcs=&bls3=110000B&bls4=010001111 130&ucl=111111A&uid=1&dmn=.asdp219.sra.com&scx=1400&scy=1050&scc=32&jav=1&st a=,,,1,,,,,,,0,0,0,26731,26516,14659,25167,511&iid=112427&bid=657721&dat=htt p%3A//www.directquote.co.za/emailquote.asp%3Fvdn%3D5925%26tel%3D0860%252010% 252037%252063> <http://red.as-eu.falkag.net/dat/bgf/trpix.gif?&rdm=51455086&dlv=631,17573,1 12427,136448,657721&kid=136448&chw=9136448-&tcs=&bls3=110000B&bls4=010001111 130&ucl=111111A&uid=1&dmn=.asdp219.sra.com&scx=1400&scy=1050&scc=32&jav=1&st a=,,,1,,,,,,,0,0,0,26731,26516,14659,25167,511&iid=112427&bid=657721> He was taken back to his flat and the police seized all forms of documentation and carted them off. He was taken to a police station in Pretoria where his interrogation began. His wife was told that if she ever wanted to see her husband again, she should tell no one of the arrests, Al Arine said. While being interrogated, Al Arine was asked if he knew Abu Bakr Ibrahim Tantouche, who is in South Africa fighting an extradition order to Libya. The US has accused Tantouche of being Osama bin Laden's banker, which he denies. Tantouche manages a stall in Fordsburg Square, Johannesburg, next to Al Arine's stand, but they were passing acquaintances only. Al Arine at first denied knowing Tantouche, because he knew him only by one of his names, Ibrahim. But his interrogators were adamant, showing he had made a call to Tantouche. Al Arine realised whom the police were talking about only when they showed him a photograph. Tantouche said yesterday he was under 24-hour surveillance and there was no way he would be "getting up to nonsense". As if to underline this, a man in plain clothes appeared suddenly and demanded to know what I was talking to Tantouche about. The man refused to identify himself. When Tantouche suggested to the man that he worked for national intelligence, the man denied this, saying he was a Muslim, and then disappeared. Tantouche said the intelligence services were his best witnesses that he had nothing to hide. He emphasised that he had the same cellphone he had bought when he entered South Africa. Abeda Bhamjee, Al Arine's lawyer at the Wits Law Clinic, said she was concerned about the way Muslim and foreign nationals' rights were being infringed. A pattern was emerging that suggested the Crime Intelligence Unit believed it did not have to uphold South Africa's constitution. Similar raids were held in April last year when the unit illegally deported three men, two of them asylum-seekers. Asylum-seeker status was supposed to afford special protections, the most important of which was that the individual should not be deported back to the country from which he or she was seeking shelter, Bhamjee said. Sally de Beer, spokeswoman for the Department of Safety and Security, declined to comment. But Trevor Bloem, at the Ministry of Safety and Security, said no police action was above the law and he would be very concerned if human rights were being abused. "No special instructions have been issued to police that they act against certain suspects based on their religious beliefs. If it is done like that, then it is cause for concern," he said. Al Arine has been released and says all his records and papers - other than his computer hard drive and car registration papers - have been returned to him. He has filed a complaint with the police Independent Complaints Directorate. American media claimed on July 22 that US police and intelligence agencies were taking part in the hunt for Aswat. They also said the four suicide bombers involved in the July 7 attacks in which 56 people died in London had made about 20 calls to Aswat on his cellphone. Aswat was born into a family of Indian origin and grew up in the north of England. He was one of nine children. http://www.capetimes.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=269 <http://www.capetimes.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=269&fArticleId=2813404> &fArticleId=2813404 FAIR USE NOTICE: All original content and/or articles and graphics in this message are copyrighted, unless specifically noted otherwise. All rights to these copyrighted items are reserved. Articles and graphics have been placed within for educational and discussion purposes only, in compliance with "Fair Use" criteria established in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976. 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