Author:
Publication: The Local
Date: July 22, 2005
URL: http://www.thelocal.se/article.php?ID=1775&date=20050722%20target=
The 39-year old Swede suspected
of involvement in the London bombings has said that Sweden would be "punished"
if he was handed over to a foreign power.
The man, who is originally from
Lebanon, has lived in Sweden since he was 18. In an interview with Dagens
Nyheter last October, he denied that he had met Osama Bin Laden but said
that he "loved him".
"I am proud of Osama bin Laden.
I am proud of everyone who wages war for justice."
The man also told Dagens Nyheter
that he thought the September 11th attacks against the United States were
"very good."
The man refuted accusations that
he had been at a terrorist training camp in Oregon in 1999. He admitted,
however, that he had lived with Abu Hamza, a controversial Muslim preacher
at the Finsbury Park mosque in London, who is currently awaiting trial
in Britain on terrorism and race-hate charges.
The Swedish man says that he lived
with one-eyed, hook-handed Hamza "for medical reasons, as a nurse."
The man, who is described by the
FBI as "very dangerous", denies that he was involved in the London attacks
of July 7th. In an interview published by Expressen on Friday, he says
that he has not left Sweden in the past three years.
Responding to reports that he had
flown to the United States in 1999 in the company of Haroon Rashid, suspected
mastermind of the London bombings, the man said he does not know who Rashid
is, and has never met him.
While denying involvement in the
London bombings, the man said that the suicide bombers who attacked three
underground trains and a bus were "martyrs," adding that he hoped also
to become a martyr one day.
"They are not terrorists, as they
are doing what Islam requires," he said.
Sweden, he said, is not threatened
by al-Qaeda, although he told Expressen that this could change if the Swedish
government handed him over to the British or American authorities.
"If Sweden hands me over to another
country then it will only have itself to blame. Sweden will then be punished
with the greatest punishment."
