FBI wants suspect extradited to face charges of conspiracy to murder
Paul Kelso, Nick Hopkins and Anne Perkins Saturday September 29, 2001 The Guardian
An Algerian pilot based in Britain was accused yesterday of being a key strategist in the terrorist attacks on America, responsible for training four of the suicide hijackers, including the pilot of the American Airlines plane that crashed into the Pentagon.
The FBI said Lotfi Raissi, 27, would face charges of conspiracy to murder in the US. Agents believe he may have "significant" information on the planning of the atrocities that killed more than 6,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
Details of Mr Raissi's alleged involvement in the attacks on September 11 emerged yesterday when he appeared at Bow Street magistrates court to face a preliminary extradition hearing.
He denies the accusations.
Downing Street and Scotland Yard yesterday played down fears that the UK was a target for terrorists and dismissed reports that 11 of the hijackers had stayed here this year. The prime minister's spokesman strongly denied that there was a British connection to the hijackings and warned that many "wild claims" were circulating.
Despite the assurances, Mr Raissi yesterday became the focus of the FBI's worldwide hunt for suspects. He was arrested on Friday last week at his home in Colnbrook, near Heathrow airport, and was questioned for seven days under the 2000 Terrorism Act.
FBI agents flew to London to assist Scotland Yard's anti-terrorist branch, though they did not speak to Mr Raissi directly.
Yesterday he was rearrested on an international warrant in connection with allegations that he provided false information on an application for a commercial pilot's licence in the US.
During yesterday's court hearing, Arvinda Sambir, prosecuting, described Mr Raissi as "the lead instructor" for four of the suicide bombers.
"It is no secret that we are looking at charges of conspiracy to murder. What we say is that Mr Raissi was in fact an instructor for four of the pilots that were responsible for the hijackings, and the one we are particularly concerned about is the one that crashed into the Pentagon, Hani Hanjour," she said.
The FBI believe that between June and July, Mr Raissi travelled frequently to the US, facilitating access to flying schools on behalf of the hijackers and joining some of them in training programmes.
Ms Sambir told the court that Mr Raissi was a member of "an organisation that has the ability to move its members around quickly and has significant funds".
"There is sufficient documentary evidence to show not just an association, it goes further than that, but also involvement in acts of conspiracy," she said.
Evidence gathered by the FBI would show a clear link between Mr Raissi and the hijack gang, Ms Sambir added. "There is active correspondence, telecommunications, video footage and evidence that they travelled together."
If and when he is flown to the US, the FBI will question him as a "material witness" to the terrorist attacks - that is, he had prior knowledge of the attacks and those who took part, though he was not directly involved on the day. Only five other people have been arrested as material witnesses in the hunt for evidence against the 19 men who hijacked the four planes.
Relatives of Mr Raissi have said he had flown jets in the US for several years and was undergoing further training at Heathrow. Before his arrest he insisted that he had spent the last nine months in the UK.
He was remanded in custody to appear again at Bow Street on October 5, when a formal application for an international arrest warrant will be heard, allowing authorities in the US and the UK 60 days to gather evidence for a full extradition hearing.
Hugo Keith, counsel for Mr Raissi, said his client denied the accusations and would resist extradition.
"These charges are a device and have nothing to do with murder. We put the US on notice that we expect full proof, that we will not tolerate accusation by innuendo or slur. We await documents from the US with some interest."
Scotland Yard said yesterday that there was no evidence to suggest that Mr Raissi had trained any of the suspected hijackers in Britain.
Working with MI5, the Metropolitan police have established that 10 of the named hijackers flew to the UK from Dubai between April and June this year, but that none of them stayed in the country for more than two or three hours.
The Met has also established that one other hijacker, named as Salem al-Hamzi, took a flight directly from Zurich to New York on June 29.
Following a request by the FBI, detectives are trying to establish whether Nawaf al-Hamzi, who was on American Airlines flight 77 which crashed into the Pentagon, came to Britain before September 11.