(AP) Swiss intelligence knew terror suspect had links to radical Islam By ONNA CORAY Associated Press Writer BERN, Switzerland Switzerland's intelligence service said Wednesday that it was previously aware of links between Islamic extremists and a purported leader of a terrorist group suspected of plotting to bomb a Spanish court.
Swiss intelligence officials knew about Mohamed Achraf's connections with radical Islam before his alleged links to the Spanish plot emerged last week, the service's spokesman Guido Balmer said. Spanish authorities suspect Achraf headed a militant Islamic cell that was planning a bomb attack on the National Court in Madrid, which is at the center of Spain's anti-terror investigations. The 31-year-old is believed to be Algerian but traveled using several fake identities. He was already detained in Switzerland for illegal immigration when he was linked to the alleged plot last week after Spanish police arrested eight purported members of the cell. Balmer declined to comment on a report in Swiss weekly news magazine Facts, which claimed that authorities in the country questioned Achraf last month. Achraf lodged an asylum claim in Switzerland April 6, 2003, posing as a Palestinian, Swiss refugee authorities said last week. Authorities rejected it six months later, but he disappeared. He was arrested again by chance Aug. 28. Although not hunted by Swiss police, he reportedly was pulled over for a traffic violation by Zurich police who then discovered he was a rejected asylum seeker. He was held in a detention center for illegal immigrants at Zurich Airport and was awaiting deportation when officials learned last week that he was allegedly linked to the Spanish plot. Swiss media have reported that because the detention center was overloaded, Achraf _ considered a well-behaved inmate _ had been scheduled for release in coming days, although he was still due to be deported. Spanish police are believed to have intercepted calls made by Achraf and found mailed instructions from him. Swiss officials have said Achraf had been able to make telephone calls and send uncensored mail from his Swiss cell because jail authorities were unaware he was a terror suspect. Among the confiscated letters were several from a man convicted in the 1993 World Trade Center bombings in New York that killed six people and injured more than 1,000 others, the Spanish newspaper El Pais has reported. Switzerland has now also received a formal request from Spain for the extradition of Achraf, federal justice ministry spokesman Folco Galli said. Last week, Achraf refused a simplified extradition procedure, setting in motion a legal process that could take months and eventually require the Swiss supreme court to rule on a handover. Achraf already has served two terms in Spanish jail through 2002 for credit card fraud. During his Spanish imprisonment he allegedly recruited cell members in prison and then later faded from police attention to plot the court attack. Swiss authorities are trying to discover what Achraf was doing in Switzerland _ in particular, whether he planned any terrorist acts here or was seeking to gather funds from possible sympathizers. Spanish police said Achraf has used at least six other names, as well as passports from three other countries, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and France. Although Switzerland is not a member of the European Union, it has few border controls for EU citizens, and Achraf would have been able to travel here easily on a French passport. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. 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