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| National |
| Suspects detention irks Turkey, Sudan, S Arabia |
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by
Gedion Munthali, 24 June 2003
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18:23:36
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Lawyer for the al Qaeda suspects Shabir Latif said on Tuesday governments of Turkey, Sudan and Saudi Arabia are irked by the further detention of their nationals, and that their envoys were travelling to Malawi to discuss the issue with the local authorities.
Latif said in an interview the three governments were further irritated after learning that the suspects’ lawyers are being denied access to the detainees.
The detained are Saudi national Fahad al Bahli, Ibrahim Habaci from Turkey, Arif Ulasam also a Turkish national, Mahmud Sardar Issa from Sudan and Khalifa Abdi Hassan from Kenya.
“The three governments are very concerned that their nationals are being detained without being told their offence and they are prevented from meeting with their lawyers,” said Latif.
“This has prompted these government to send their ambassadors here, so they could try to make sense of what is happening with the Malawi government.”
Director of Political Affairs in the Foreign Affairs Ministry Paul Chiunguzeni said on Tuesday he was not aware the three diplomats were coming to Malawi.
“So far my office does not have such information,” said Chiunguzeni. “Maybe they communicated through the protocol department.”
Officials in the protocol department were said to be out to Dwambazi in Nkhotakota where President Muluzi was officially opening the Dwambazi Bridge.
Latif said he asked the Attorney General Peter Fachi on Tuesday to allow him and his team of lawyers to meet with the suspects, but Deputy Chief Advocate Primrose Chimwaza, answering on behalf of Fachi, said the matter be referred to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
“We are now writing to the Home Affairs Ministry. It is important that we should meet with our clients because we do not know how they are and where they are being kept,” said Latif.
Chimwaza declined to disclose where the five suspects are being held.
Another lawyer Chalamanda said that government does not have any legal instruments to “deport or hand them over to the American authorities”, saying Malawi and America do not have any extradition treaty.
“We are just hearing that they are in the hands of the CIA who are just waiting a formal handover by the Malawi government through the deportation,” said Chalamanda.
When asked on Monday to define the stakes of the American government in the matter, and the role the CIA played to round up the suspects, United State Embassy spokesperson Robin Diallo said: “We have seen the press reports today, and that is the extent of our knowledge of the matter.”
“But since the September 11, the United States government expects each and every civilised government to cooperate in the global fight against terrorism,” said Diallo, insisting: “This was a Malawi government operation, and we treat it as such”.
In an affidavit sworn by Tonda Chinangwa deposited with the court, the State says government acted after receiving information that the five people were (allegedly) involved in international terrorism. The affidavit does not say where the information came from.
It says that the suspects were rounded up and put on deportation list after the Minister of Home Affairs declared them “undesirable” under the laws of Malawi.
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