MoD Information

Al-Qaida Men Get 11 Years

Wed, April 02, 2003

Source: Guardian Unlimited

Two men regarded as important in the British end of a funding and support network for al-Qaida were jailed for 11 years

Two men regarded as important in the British end of a funding and support network for al-Qaida were jailed for 11 years each yesterday.

Brahim Benmerzouga and Baghdad Meziane, both Algerian, are the first people to be convicted in the UK of having links with Osama bin Laden.
They raised tens of thousands of pounds by credit card fraud for the terrorist group, Leicester crown court was told. They had extremist books and dozens of videos which detectives believe were being used in recruitment.
Security sources believe the men, both illegal immigrants, were linked to terrorist cells elsewhere in Europe and to individuals suspected of plotting terrorist acts.
They believe some of the money they raised was intended for training camps in Afghanistan, and some for a cell in northern Europe.
Sentencing Benmerzouga, 31, and Meziane, 38, Mr Justice Curtis said: "I appreciate that each of you has not personally committed an act of terrorism which has taken life or seriously injured anyone.
"But the terrorists, in order to carry out their terrible killings and maimings, need money, false papers and military-style materials.
"You both provided terrorists with the vital support and ran a well-organised and secretive cell."
The men lived in Leicester and worked in a factory in Corby. After work much of their time was spent amassing money through the fraud. This involved stealing details from genuine cards, transferring them to blank cards and using these to obtain cash.
The police know that they made about Ł200,000, but it is thought that their gains may have been much greater.
The men were seized two weeks after the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington after a suspected member of al-Qaida in France, Kamel Daoudi, was seen visiting them.
Mr Daoudi was returned to France and detectives and security officials began investigating Benmerzouga and Meziane.
Meziane, who arrived in Britain in the late 90s after being refused asylum in Germany, is seen as the more senior of the pair.
As well as overseeing the credit card fraud, he arranged the distribution of false passports and had a "forger's kit" at his home.
He had a false passport for himself in the name of Cyril Jacob, which he used to open bank accounts and claim benefits.
He also had a book called A Biography of the Freedom Fighter Osama Bin Laden, and material about the attacks on September 11 was found on his computer.
Benmerzouga had more than 60 films promoting suicide bombings and martyrdom, including 19 copies of a video of Bin Laden. The prosecution believed that some were used to recruit for al-Qaida.
A solar-powered battery and a triple-band mobile, which the court was told could be useful for terrorists, and three false passports were also found at his home.
The two men had denied "entering into a funding arrangement for the purposes of terrorism".
The prosecution had wanted to charge them with membership of al-Qaida, but the judge ruled before the trial that this was not possible.