N Zealand expels '9/11 associate'
New Zealand has deported a Saudi man said to be directly associated with one of the 9/11 hijackers.
Rayed Mohammed Abdullah Ali was taking flying lessons when he was arrested last month, New Zealand's Immigration Minister David Cunliffe said.
He added that Mr Ali had lived and trained with Hani Hanjour, believed to have flown Flight 77 into the Pentagon.
Mr Ali was found to pose a security threat and deported to Saudi Arabia on 30 May, Mr Cunliffe said.
Mr Ali, 28, is said to have arrived in New Zealand in February on a student visa, saying he wanted to learn English in order to train for his commercial airline pilot's licence.
Mr Cunliffe said Mr Ali's identity had not been immediately apparent to authorities because "he used a variation of his name in applying for entry".
No right to appeal
Mr Ali initially settled in Auckland but moved to the town of Palmerston North in May, where he took lessons at the Manawatu Aero Club, reported the Weekend Herald newspaper.
On 29 May he was arrested, and the next day he was deported under escort to Saudi Arabia.
"He was directly associated with persons responsible for the terrorist attacks in the United States on 11 September 2001," said the minister.
The 9/11 congressional report into the attacks names "Rayed Abdullah" as living in Phoenix, Arizona, with Hanjour. He is said to have undertaken flight simulator training with Hanjour.
Mr Cunliffe refused to comment on what happened to Mr Ali after he returned to Saudi Arabia.
Mr Ali is only the second person deported under Section 72 of New Zealand's Immigration Act, which offers no right to appeal.
'Moderate'
Mr Cunliffe would not comment on what specific information the government had on Mr Ali, but told the Weekend Herald: "We're satisfied he is the right man."
But Captain Ravindra Singh, the chief flying officer at the Palmerston North flying club, told the newspaper Mr Ali was "quite intelligent and a moderate person... I'm 99% sure he was genuine."
Mr Ali is said to have been born and raised in Saudi Arabia, but travelled on a Yemeni passport.
Story from BBC NEWS:
news.bbc.co.uk
Published: 2006/06/10 04:01:55 GMT
© BBC MMVI |
