Arrested Somalis ‘suspected of links to Al Shabab’, says Volkskrant

The 12 Somali men arrested on Friday in connection with planning a terrorist attack on an unknown Dutch target are suspected of having connections to Islamic terror group Al Shabab, the Volkskrant reports on Monday.


The paper bases its claims on sources in the Somali community in the Netherlands, Mogadishu and Kenya.
The paper says one of the 12 men is related to a commander in Al Shabab known as Mohamed Garmashqo and that this is the same nickname as the owner of the phone shop arrested on Friday.
Not radical
However, friends of the man, Mohamed Abdullahi R say there is no question that he is involved in terrorism. He is Muslim, but not radical, they told the paper.
Five of the 12 were released on Sunday and are no longer considered suspects.
The lawyer of two of them has called for an investigation into the way the AIVD does its work.
‘One can only assume the AIVD has made a mistake if you release suspects so quickly,’ Michael Ruperti is quoted as saying by the AD.
Damages
Ruperti’s clients also plan to claim damages for their arrest. The two were picked up, handcuffed and blindfolded and not told they were wanted on terrorism charges until Saturday, Ruperti said.
A judge will decide on Monday if the seven other suspects should remain in custody.

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