Der Spiegel reports that a Saudi diplomat has been linked to Al Qaeda and suspected terrorists.
Mohammed J. Fakihi, an attache at the Saudi embassy in Berlin, had contacts with a group of Islamists who were arrested last Thursday on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack. Fakihi met with the suspects through Berlin's al-Nur Mosque.
After the German Foreign Ministry confronted the Saudi Embassy with the results of the investigation, the Saudis flew Fakihi home to Riyadh. The report implies (but does not explicitly state) that the German officials were not able to interrogate Fahiki.
Investigators also discovered Fakihi's business card during an earlier search of the apartment of convicted 9/11 conspirator Mounir el Motassadeq. It was only after multiple attempts that the Saudi government responded to German inquiries about Fakihi.
Reuters also has the story. It doesn't mention Fakihi's name or Motassadeq connection. But it adds that the diplomat was called home before he could be expelled on suspicion of "violating weapons laws and falsifying documents".
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at March 26, 2003 07:17 PM