More SA terror suspects?
2007-01-31 11:27
Johannesburg - Deputy foreign minister Aziz Pahad has voiced concerns that more South Africans could be added to the United States' list of suspected terrorists, the SABC reported on Tuesday.
Pahad said that recent developments which could see new names added to the list were a major concern and could have "fundamental negative effects on individuals who are on the list".
He added that the rights of South Africans needed to be defended.
Pahad was speaking at an intergovernmental summit on south to south co-operation hosted by Chile.
On Monday an unnamed US official said the names of more South Africans could be added to the international terrorists list.
Last Friday, the US listed Junaid Dockrat, a Johannesburg dentist, and his cousin, Pretoria cleric Farhad Ahmed Dockrat, as suspected terrorists with links to al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
It was "unlikely" there were only two, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"If we get sufficient evidence and intelligence we'll do what's necessary," the official continued.
It was alleged that Farhard Dockrat gave the Taliban ambassador to Pakistan R400 000 in 2001 to forward to the al-Akhtar Trust, which is listed by both the US and United Nations as a terror organisation backing al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and the Taliban.
It was alleged that Junaid Dockrat contacted al-Qaeda operations chief Hamza Rabi'a in 2004 to co-ordinate the travel of South Africans to Pakistan to train with al-Qaeda.
The naming of individuals took place only when there was thousands of pages of evidence against them the official explained, but said not all this information could be made public as its was "intelligence heavy".
It was a "misconception" that names were never removed from the list. "We ask: 'Have they renounced terrorism and are they still a threat?' and if they are not, we want them off the list."
- SAPA