08-11-2005, 07:49 PM
Terror camp suspect ordered held
<img src='http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2005/WORLD/europe/08/11/london.aswat.ap/long.aswat.cnn.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
Aswat: Denies trying to set up fighters' training camp in Oregon.
LONDON, England (AP) --
A suspected Islamic militant accused of trying to set up a terrorist training camp in the United States was ordered to remain in custody Thursday, as U.S. authorities prepare an extradition case against him.
Senior District Judge Timothy Workman ruled that Haroon Rashid Aswat should remain in prison until September 8, when his case again goes before London's Bow Street Magistrates' Court.
Aswat, 30, is accused by U.S. authorities of conspiring to set up a camp in the western state of Oregon. He spoke only to confirm his name during the brief hearing.
Aswat, a British citizen, indicated at a hearing earlier this week that he will fight extradition. He has denied the allegations.
Federal prosecutors in the U.S. allege that Aswat conspired to provide material support to terrorism in the United States in 1999-2000. They allege that Aswat and another man were dispatched to the United States in 1999 to help set up a camp in Bly, Oregon, that would provide training in weapons, hand-to-hand combat and martial arts for Islamic militants aiming to fight in Afghanistan.
Aswat allegedly took an Air India flight to New York City on Nov. 26, 1999, and then took a bus to Bly via Seattle. Prosecutors say he was carrying CD-ROM information on how to make bombs and poisons and on military conduct.
Hugo Keith, the British prosecutor acting on behalf of the U.S. government, told a court hearing on Monday that witnesses had overheard Aswat saying he'd been sent to assess the suitability of the property at Bly. A witness also heard Aswat stating that he'd received training in Afghanistan and that he'd once met Osama bin Laden, Keith said.
Aswat was arrested in Zambia on July 20 and deported to Britain on Sunday, when he was arrested on a U.S. extradition warrant.
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press
<img src='http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2005/WORLD/europe/08/11/london.aswat.ap/long.aswat.cnn.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
Aswat: Denies trying to set up fighters' training camp in Oregon.
LONDON, England (AP) --
A suspected Islamic militant accused of trying to set up a terrorist training camp in the United States was ordered to remain in custody Thursday, as U.S. authorities prepare an extradition case against him.
Senior District Judge Timothy Workman ruled that Haroon Rashid Aswat should remain in prison until September 8, when his case again goes before London's Bow Street Magistrates' Court.
Aswat, 30, is accused by U.S. authorities of conspiring to set up a camp in the western state of Oregon. He spoke only to confirm his name during the brief hearing.
Aswat, a British citizen, indicated at a hearing earlier this week that he will fight extradition. He has denied the allegations.
Federal prosecutors in the U.S. allege that Aswat conspired to provide material support to terrorism in the United States in 1999-2000. They allege that Aswat and another man were dispatched to the United States in 1999 to help set up a camp in Bly, Oregon, that would provide training in weapons, hand-to-hand combat and martial arts for Islamic militants aiming to fight in Afghanistan.
Aswat allegedly took an Air India flight to New York City on Nov. 26, 1999, and then took a bus to Bly via Seattle. Prosecutors say he was carrying CD-ROM information on how to make bombs and poisons and on military conduct.
Hugo Keith, the British prosecutor acting on behalf of the U.S. government, told a court hearing on Monday that witnesses had overheard Aswat saying he'd been sent to assess the suitability of the property at Bly. A witness also heard Aswat stating that he'd received training in Afghanistan and that he'd once met Osama bin Laden, Keith said.
Aswat was arrested in Zambia on July 20 and deported to Britain on Sunday, when he was arrested on a U.S. extradition warrant.
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press