Iran – Features

Sa muslims detained at uganda airport

January 1, 2013July 25, 2013

By Jeff Wicks

Two South African Muslim clerics have been detained by the Ugandan government on suspicion of being involved in terrorism.

According to reports by Radio Islam, the men were detained by the joint anti-terrorism task force of Uganda at Entebbe International Airport in Kampala on Sunday.

The families of the two Johannesburg men are expected to call on the department of foreign affairs to intervene on their behalf.

Mufti Hussain Bhayat, 57, of Lenasia, and Haroon Saley, believed to be in his early 50s, from Azaadville on Johannesburg’s West Rand, are being held by Ugandan authorities.

The two had apparently arrived in Uganda from Kenya and were to arrive at OR Tambo International Airport on Thursday morning.

Ugandan defence and army spokesperson Major Paddy Ankunda said the two are being held by the Ugandan military intelligence.

Foreign Affairs Department spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said the arrest of the clerics was yet to be confirmed.

"At this stage we have not been able to verify the arrest of the two men, but we have been in contact with our diplomatic mission in Uganda.

"A team there is liaising with the Ugandan authorities to firstly confirm the arrest. Once confirmed they will facilitate a meeting and offer our counsel."

According to Bhayat’s son, Mahmood, his father had travelled to Nairobi last week.

(This article was originally published on page 1 of The Cape Times on August 22, 2008)

Published on the Web by IOL on 2008-08-22 06:12:00
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The nyt the flotilla inquiry

January 1, 2013July 25, 2013

By Alison Weir

(source: Counterpunch)

The New York Times, whose regional bureau chief has a son in the Israeli military, reports that Israel has just appointed a panel charged with investigating its attack on an aid flotilla that killed nine aid volunteers, including a 19-year-old American.

Isabel Kershner, who is an Israeli citizen and has refused to answer questions about her possible family ties to the Israeli military, writes the report.

Kershner reports that the White House hailed the announcement of the panel as an “important step forward,” stating that “the structure and terms of reference of Israel’s proposed independent public commission can meet the standard of a prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation.”

Read More »The nyt the flotilla inquiry

King abdullah in mid east warning

January 1, 2013July 25, 2013

King Abdullah in Mid-East warning

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King Abdullah is involved in devising a peace plan for the Middle East

King Abdullah of Jordan has warned that failure to reach an agreement for peace in the Middle East will result in a new conflict within 12-18 months.

In comments to the UK newspaper The Times, he said the US was finalising an ambitious "57-state solution" for peace that he is helping to prepare.

The king said the plan would include proposals to settle Israel’s disputes with Syria and Lebanon.

Families of terror suspects protest

January 1, 2013July 25, 2013

Publication date: Sunday, 24th August, 2008

By Vision Reporter and Agencies

MUSLIM clerics and families of the arrested South African terror suspects have claimed that they are being subjected to Islamaphobia and terror profiling.

The Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) in South Africa told local newspapers that it believed Islamic cleric Mufti Hussain Bhayat and Haroon Saley detained in Kampala on terrorism allegations are being subjected to Islamaphobic profiling.

The MJC and the Media Review Network (MRN) want South Africa Intelligence Minister, Ronnie Kasrils, to intervene in the case of the men being handled by the Joint Anti-Terrorism Task Force. The MRN, by the weekend, was also preparing to send its chairperson, Iqbal Jassat, to accompany Zahid Asmal of Channel Islam International to Uganda to assess the case.

The MRN and MJC said they were outraged “that Muslims of undeniable integrity and a track-record of poverty alleviation have been profiled as ‘terrorists’.

“This feeds into the orchestrated frenzy of 42that can only be detrimental to the harmonious relationship currently enjoyed by our people on the continent,” the organisations commented.

The two were arrested at Entebbe International Airport on Monday with two other Ugandans Muslims who had gone to the airport to receive them. Security declined to reveal the identity of the locals.Radio Islam in South Africa reports that Bhayat lives in Lenasia, and Saley is a resident of Azaadville.

Army spokesperson Maj. Paddy Ankunda said the two were suspected of being involved in terrorism activities and that they had not been tortured.
“We are stilling holding them. We have got useful leads and still compiling more information.”

Yousha Tayob, who spoke on behalf of the suspects’ families said they had received acknowledgement from Uganda that Bhayat and Saley are in custody, but didn’t know why. “We are trying to establish consular access and that will tell us everything we need to know,” Tayob said. “We have been given no official reason,” he said over the weekend.