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Gambia News : Airlines Refuse to Transport Radical Cleric
The radical Jamaican cleric who was deported to Gambia last week has been returned to Kenya, Kenyan news media reported late on Sunday.
It was the second time Kenya had tried unsuccessfully to deport the cleric, Abdullah el-Faisal, who was arrested a week ago in Mombasa. The Kenyan authorities said Mr. Faisal’s history of radical statements and connections with convicted terrorists made him a threat to Kenya’s security.
Kenya had flown him to Lagos, Nigeria, on Thursday, according to news reports. From there, he was scheduled to fly to Gambia and then to Jamaica. But airlines in Nigeria refused to fly him to Gambia, news media reported.
Kenya’s efforts have been hampered by the refusal of several countries to allow Mr. Faisal to pass through their borders or travel on their airlines. On Tuesday, the Kenyan authorities reportedly drove him to the border of Tanzania because he had entered Kenya from there, but Tanzania refused him entry.
On Thursday, Gambia offered to help get him to Jamaica, but now it is unclear how he can travel to Gambia.
Muslim leaders and human rights activists said Sunday that they had spotted Mr. Faisal at a Nairobi prison.
“He is being held at the Industrial Area Prison and we don’t understand why he is there because he has never been charged in court,” local news outlets quoted a Muslim human rights official as saying.
Mr. Faisal was the imam of a London mosque attended by the so-called shoe bomber, Richard C. Reid, and Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person convicted in an American court for involvement in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. And he may have influenced the Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight last month, who had cited Mr. Faisal as a cleric he listened to.
Mr. Faisal was convicted in Britain in 2003 of inciting racial hatred for urging his followers to kill Hindus, Christians, Jews and Americans, and he was accused of influencing one of the bombers who struck the London transit system in July 2005. Britain deported him to Jamaica in 2007, and it is not clear how he ended up in Africa.
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- even if u see the face of this man u will know that he is a problematic man.for him to get in to the gambia he will mack brand worse to our children's. and jammeh and gambians will then have big problem,s. we love paice and happniss.we love gambia ,
(Posted on January 13, 2010, 2:05 AM ABUBACARR SAMBOU)
- Promises can be retracted. It was very wise of his excellency to denied this gentleman cleric entry into the gambia. Job well done.
(Posted on January 12, 2010, 11:34 PM Abdou R Jobe)
- Jammeh is playing with fire. According to Kenyan aouthorities, Jammeh promised this known terrorist a free ride to Kingston in the presidential aircraft if he made it to Banjul. No supporter of terrorism will be tolerated and that includes Jammeh
(Posted on January 12, 2010, 4:57 AM Ansu Koroma)
- Gambia needs to distance itself from wahabi islam. Take the Saudi's charitable aid for the betterment of the country, but consign Saudi radicalism to the dustbin!!
(Posted on January 11, 2010, 9:27 PM King Solomon)
- Is very unfortunate that on the whole he did not even step in the Gambia but enemies of the Gambia I call them but they say they fighting Jammeh are once a again quick to report to the world he is deported to the Gambia. What is all this for?
(Posted on January 11, 2010, 2:52 PM Lamin)
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