National
9/11 suspect extradited to Spain
By m.p.
Feb 8, 2008 - 8:26 PM

Britain has today extradited to Spain a Moroccan man, Farid Hilali, in connection with the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York. The charges against him from Judge Baltasar Garzón are terrorism and membership of an armed organisation.

Hilali was arrested in 2004 on a Spanish National Court warrant issued by Spain, which, Europa Press reports, was based on telephone conversations with a man known as Abu Dahdah just two weeks before the attacks took place. Abu Dahdah, whose real name is Imad Eddin Barakat, was the leader of the Al Qaeda cell which was broken up in Spain in November 2001, and Hilali is alleged to have told him ‘we have entered the aviation sector,’ and ‘we have slit the throat of the bird.’

Hilali has been held in the Long Lartin high security prison in Worcestershire, and was flown out of RAF Brize Norton on Friday.

His extradition comes after the House of Lords turned down his appeal for release from custody, and confirmed his extradition to Spain. The UK’s High Court had previously ruled that his imprisonment was arbitrary and unjustified.