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Iran Rejects US Call to Hand Over Al-Qaeda Detainees
Agence France Presse
TEHRAN, 29 October 2003 — Iran yesterday reiterated its refusal to hand over suspected members of the Al-Qaeda network detained in the country to the United States, insisting that operatives from the group would be tried in the Islamic republic’s courts.
“The demand by the White House that members of this group currently held in Iran be extradited is inappropriate,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi was quoted as saying by state radio.
“They have committed crimes in Iran and will be judged by our tribunals in accordance with our laws,” he said, promising “fair trials”.
On Monday, the United States said Iran should turn over all suspected members of Osama Bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda network it has detained and not just notify the United Nations of their identities.
“We have indicated to Iran that we thought that anybody that they have in custody should be returned to places of origin for whatever justice might be appropriate or turned over to us if they choose to do that,” Secretary of State Colin Powell said.
On Saturday, state media reported that Iran had identified to the UN Security Council 78 suspected Al-Qaeda members who Tehran said had already been extradited to their countries of origin.
In addition, Iran said it had provided the names of 147 suspected members of Al-Qaeda — or of its former Afghan hosts, the Taleban militia — who remain in custody pending trial, extradition or deportation.
Previously, Iran said it had arrested and deported about 500 people belonging to or linked to Al-Qaeda since late 2001. Those who had been extradited were not believed to include any senior members of the group.
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| Earth, a planet hungry for peace |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |
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