Al-Qaeda man in Pta court
2004-04-20 10:39
Pretoria - A suspected al-Qaeda operative will appear in court in Pretoria on Tuesday.
Senior Superintendent Sally de Beer said SA Police Services arrested Libyan national Ibrahim Ali Abubakar Tantoush in Pretoria in February this year on charges of being in possession of false documentation.
He allegedly tried to enter Indonesia with a fake South African passport, upon which Interpol issued a warrant for his arrest.
De Beer said Tantoush's court appearance was connected to South Africa's intent to extradite him to Libya.
Interpol's Tripoli office said Tantoush allegedly stole large amounts of gold in 1985 to fund Osama bin Ladin, 702 Eyewitness News reported. Tantoush had since then spent years attending various al-Qaeda training camps, Interpol said.
Tantoush denied the allegations, saying Libya just wanted to punish him for taking part in anti-Gaddafi protests in the late 1980's.
Tantoush applied for asylum in South Africa, but it was denied.