US terror suspect extradition ruling today
Monday 08 March 2010
Judges will today announce whether a 43-year-old Somalian asylum seeker can be extradited to the US on terrorism charges, the Volkskrant reports.
Mohamud Said Omar, 44, who is thought to have been in the Netherlands since the end of 2008, is alleged to have helped extremists travel to Somalia to train with the radical Islamic movement Al Shabaab.
He was arrested at a refugee centre in Dronten, Flevoland in November 2009.
The man has also lived in Minneapolis where he is said to have recruited college students - up to 20 according to some reports.
Omar’s lawyers say he never intended to help terrorists. 'He denies that he has ever been involved in any way whatsoever with the financing of terrorism,' lawyer Bart Stapert said at the extradition hearing in February.
His lawyers also point out that the alleged offences relate to a time before Al Shabaab was considered a terrorist organisation and that charges against him are not criminal offences in the Netherlands.
In July, four Dutch youths suspected of being on their way to an Al Shabaab training camp were arrested in Kenya. The charges were later dropped.
© DutchNews.nl
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