London 'terrorist' can be extradited

12 April 2012

A leading al Qaida suspect can be extradited to the US to stand trial on terror plot charges, a district judge ruled today.

Algerian Amar Makhlulif, 37, is alleged to have plotted to blow up Los Angeles airport on Millennium Eve and to have helped send would-be terrorists to Osama bin Laden's training camps in Afghanistan.

He appeared at top security Belmarsh Magistrates Court in south-east London today, where district judge Timothy Workman ruled there was sufficient evidence to justify sending him to the US for trial.

The decision needs the approval of the Home Secretary David Blunkett before any extradition moves can be carried out.Defence spokeswoman Alison MacDonald said an appeal would be considered.

Makhlulif, who is also known as Doha and the Doctor, was remanded in custody pending the Home Secretary's decision or any appeal.

Police with machine-guns surrounded the court as Makhlulif appeared, flanked by three security guards, for today's ruling.

It followed a day-long hearing last month when the court were told that Makhlulif was accused of plotting with bin Laden, Ahmed Ressam and others to blow up Los Angeles airport.

The plot is said to have unravelled when authorities arrested Algerian Ressam as he tried to cross into the US from Canada with a car full of explosives.

If convicted in the US he would not be given the death penalty but could face jail without the possibility of parole.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in