“Finnish Taleban” arrested in Pakistan
Swedish-born Mehdi Ghezali has Finnish mother and Algerian father
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By Leo Pugin
Security forces in Pakistan have arrested three Swedes who are suspected of having contacts with the al-Qaeda terrorist network. One of those arrested was Mehdi Ghezali, who was held in the US prison in Guantánamo in 2001-2004.
In the Finnish media, Ghezali was dubbed the “Finnish Taleban” because his mother was a Finn. Ghezali, who grew up in the Swedish city of Örebro, has an Algerian father.
The report of the arrest came from a news report on Swedish television SVT. A Swedish government source confirmed the information to the Swedish private television network TV4.
The Associated Press reported that the 30-year-old Ghezali was among a group of 12 foreigners who were stopped at a checkpoint in Dra Ghazi Khan in Pakistan two weeks ago. The group included people from Turkey, Russia, and Iran.
According to TV4, the three Swedish citizens who were arrested also included a 19-year-old woman from Stockholm and a child. TV4 said that the woman had been arrested two years ago in Somalia on suspicion of terrorism.
According to the Pakistani army, the group were travelling in a minibus, and said that they had crossed into Pakistan from Iran, while en route to South Waziristan, which is known to be a Taleban stronghold.
Officials said that they had found “interesting” documents with the group. “We found literature on CD-ROM discs with references to terrorist activities”. Punjab province police chief Mohammad Rizwani told the Iranian Press TV, according to the Swedish media.
Also confiscated was a laptop computer and 10,000 US dollars in cash. “One thing is sure is that these people are terrorists”, Rizwani said to the AP. According to Rizwani, the members of the group are suspected of having contacts with al-Qaeda.
After the arrest, the group was taken to the Pakistani capital Islamabad for questioning. According to the Swedish newspaper Expressen, both Pakistani security officials and the US CIA are interested in the group.
“The CIA is always interested in suspected terrorists of a foreign background. They want to know whom they met in Iran and why they were going to Waziristan”, said a Pakistani source to Expressen.
Ghezali’s father did not believe that his son would have been arrested. According to the Swedish news agency TT, the father had said that his son had called a few days earlier from Saudi Arabia, where he was on a pilgrimage.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 12.9.2009
Security forces in Pakistan have arrested three Swedes who are suspected of having contacts with the al-Qaeda terrorist network. One of those arrested was Mehdi Ghezali, who was held in the US prison in Guantánamo in 2001-2004.
In the Finnish media, Ghezali was dubbed the “Finnish Taleban” because his mother was a Finn. Ghezali, who grew up in the Swedish city of Örebro, has an Algerian father.
The report of the arrest came from a news report on Swedish television SVT. A Swedish government source confirmed the information to the Swedish private television network TV4.
The Associated Press reported that the 30-year-old Ghezali was among a group of 12 foreigners who were stopped at a checkpoint in Dra Ghazi Khan in Pakistan two weeks ago. The group included people from Turkey, Russia, and Iran.
According to TV4, the three Swedish citizens who were arrested also included a 19-year-old woman from Stockholm and a child. TV4 said that the woman had been arrested two years ago in Somalia on suspicion of terrorism.
According to the Pakistani army, the group were travelling in a minibus, and said that they had crossed into Pakistan from Iran, while en route to South Waziristan, which is known to be a Taleban stronghold.
Officials said that they had found “interesting” documents with the group. “We found literature on CD-ROM discs with references to terrorist activities”. Punjab province police chief Mohammad Rizwani told the Iranian Press TV, according to the Swedish media.
Also confiscated was a laptop computer and 10,000 US dollars in cash. “One thing is sure is that these people are terrorists”, Rizwani said to the AP. According to Rizwani, the members of the group are suspected of having contacts with al-Qaeda.
After the arrest, the group was taken to the Pakistani capital Islamabad for questioning. According to the Swedish newspaper Expressen, both Pakistani security officials and the US CIA are interested in the group.
“The CIA is always interested in suspected terrorists of a foreign background. They want to know whom they met in Iran and why they were going to Waziristan”, said a Pakistani source to Expressen.
Ghezali’s father did not believe that his son would have been arrested. According to the Swedish news agency TT, the father had said that his son had called a few days earlier from Saudi Arabia, where he was on a pilgrimage.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 12.9.2009
LEO PUGIN / Helsingin Sanomat
leo.pugin@hs.fi