THE SCOTSMAN
Bin Laden opens European terror base in Albania

by Chris Stephen, Tirana

ALBANIAN authorities working with the Central Intelligence Agency claim to have uncovered a terrorist network operated by Osama Bin Laden, the Islamic fundamentalist accused of masterminding the African embassy bombings last August.

The network is said to have been set up to use Albania, a Muslim country, as a springboard for operations in Europe.

Fatos Klosi, the head of Shik, the Albanian intelligence service, said last week that Bin Laden had visited Albania himself.

His was one of several fundamentalist groups that had sent units to fight in Kosovo, the neighbouring Muslim province of Serbia, Klosi said. “Egyptians, Saudi Arabians, Algerians, Tunisians, Sudanese and Kuwaitis - they come from several different organisations.

Klosi said he believed terrorists had already infiltrated other parts of Europe from bases in Albania through a traffic in illegal migrants, who have been smuggled by speedboat across the Mediterranean to Italy in huge numbers. Interpol believes more than 100,000 blank Albanian passports were stolen in riots last year, providing ample opportunity for terrorists to acquire false papers.

Apparent confirmation of Bin Laden’s activities came earlier this month when Claude Kader, 27, a French national and self-confessed member of Bin Laden’s Albanian network, was jailed for the murder of a local translator. He claimed during his trial that he had visited Albania to recruit and arm fighters for Kosovo, and that four of his associates were still at large.

Bin Laden is believed to have established an operation in Albania in 1994 after telling the government that he was head of a wealthy Saudi humanitarian agency keen to help Europe ’s poorest nation.

“Terrorist organisations have taken advantage of peaceful Islamic charity and religious groups,” Klosi said.

Albanian sources say Sali Berisha, who was then president, had links with some groups that later proved to be extreme fundamentalists. The Socialist party, which took over after Berisha’s government was driven out by country-wide rioting, has since co-operated closely with American officials.

American raids on Bin Laden’s men in Albania have failed to halt their operations entirely, however. The Americans have withdrawn non-essential staff from the country and fortified their embassy, fearing it may be attacked.

http://www.balkanpeace.org/index.php?index=/content/wtb/wtb08.incl

Dienstag, 10. August 2010
Yassin Kadi, der Bin Laden Financier und die Albaner UCK - KLA Terroristen
Country Reports on Terrorism 2009 — Albania (August 5, 2010)

Albania pledged to increase its contribution of troops to Afghanistan, froze bank accounts related to money laundering and terrorist financing, and aggressively worked with the United States and other countries to combat terrorism. Albania made progress in identifying vulnerabilities at land and sea borders, but the government and police forces continued to face challenges to enforce border security fully and to combat organized crime and corruption.

On January 14, 2008, the criminal trial began against Hamzeh Abu Rayyan, the suspected administrator for UNSCR 1267 Committee-designated terrorist financier Yassin al-Kadi, who is charged with hiding funds used to finance terrorism. This marked the first-ever criminal terrorist finance-related trial in Albania. The trial continued throughout 2009. A civil suit filed by al-Kadi to release his assets from seizure was dismissed and refiled several times. It was later reviewed by higher courts on matters of jurisdiction and statute of limitations. After being dismissed in June, it was filed again and is now pending trial in Tirana District Court. In addition, al-Kadi’s company, Loxhall, filed a lawsuit in April. It aimed to annul the Council of Ministers’ decision, as well as the two orders of the Ministry of Finance related to the administration of seized terrorism assets. This lawsuit was rejected in October, and is now pending appeal.
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On October 12, a local imam, Artan Kristo, was arrested in Durrës. Kristo, also known as Muhamed Abdullah, was accused of “publicly inciting and propagating terrorist acts” for allegedly calling for jihad in the AlbSelafi.net online forum. Previously, Kristo was named as a suspect in the murder of the Secretary General of the Albanian Muslim Community, Salih Tivari, in January of 2003. The Durrës court decided to detain Kristo pending trial……………

http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2009/140885.htm

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http://balkan-spezial.blogspot.com/2010/08/yassin-kadi-der-bin-laden-financier-und.html

Haradinaj case sent for partial retrial
21 July 2010 | 09:59 | Source: B92, Beta, Tanjug
THE HAGUE — The Hague Tribunal Appeals Chamber has made a decision for a partial retrial of former KLA leader Ramush Haradinaj war crimes trial.

The former ethnic Albanian member of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) was previously acquitted by the court.

Six of the original 37 counts of the indictment against him would be subject to a retrial, according to the chamber’s decision.

Although he said he would not travel to The Hague for today’s proceedings, Haradinaj was in the court room, said reports.

The previous verdict found Haradinaj and fellow KLA member Idriz Balaj not guilt of war crimes committed against Serbs, Roma and ethnic Albanian near Dečani in Kosovo, in 1998.

The third suspect, Lahi Brahimaj was convicted for abusing prisoners and sentenced to six years in prison.

The prosecution appealed the initial verdict that was given in April 2008, related to the crimes that the Kosovo Liberation Army allegedly committed against prisoners in the Jablanica prison camp.

The Hague prosecution stated in its appeal that there were threats and intimidation against witnesses in the initial trial, adding that the judges stated in the verdict that many witnesses said that they did not want to appear in court out of fear.

http://www.b92.net/eng/news/crimes-article.php?yyyy=2010&mm=07&dd=21&nav_id=68572

Der Chefredaktor der in Pristina erscheinenden Tageszeitung «Koha Ditore», Agron Bajrami, rechnet mit neuen Verhandlungen zwischen Belgrad und Pristina nach dem IGH-Urteil. Noch sei es aber verfrüht, über das Thema der Gespräche zu spekulieren. Beobachter in Pristina fürchten, dass die Regierung von Ministerpräsident Hashim Thaci kaum die Interessen Kosovos vertreten könne. Die meisten Mitglieder seines Kabinetts gelten als korrupt und diplomatisch unerfahren. «Die Korruption und die organisierte Kriminalität gefährden die Zukunft und die Unabhängigkeit Kosovos», sagte der US-Politologe David Phillips an einer Konferenz in Pristina am Dienstag. Er ist Autor einer kürzlich präsentierten Studie, die zum Schluss kommt, dass Thacis illegaler Geheimdienst SHIK jährlich über 200 Millionen Franken durch Erpressung, Raub und Korruption einkassiere.

http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/ausland/europa/Ist-Kosovo-ein-Staat-Oder-war-die-Abspaltung-von-Serbien-unrechtmaessig-/story/16300650

Back in 1999 Americans cancelled the arrival of Defence Minster at the time William Cohen to Albania due to poor safety conditions, and in 1998 Albanian and American forces carried out a huge raid arresting over 100 people. Two of those were Bin Laden’s associates, and one was Egyptian.

The other country where Osama Bin Laden’s contacts were spotted is Bosnia-Herzegovina. During the war, several hundred Islamic fundamentalists arrived there, and some stayed. Three men were arrested in July under the suspicion of being connected with Osama Bin Laden. All three were Egyptians, and two had Bosnian passports.

http://www.southeasteurope.org/subpage.php?sub_site=2&id=3356&s_word=bin%20laden

Betim Kaziu, 21, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, was arrested in Kosovo last August by Kosovo police and extradited to the United States this week.

The Brooklyn Federal Court indictment claims that Kaziu made repeated attempts to buy weapons and tried to join a terrorist group linked to Al Qaeda.

Kaziu pleaded not guilty and was ordered to be held without bail. If convicted, he could face life in prison.

Following the arrest in Kosovo, the police found two Kalashnikovs, five hand grenades, 235 pieces of ammunition, a hunting rifle and a lap top computer at the house where Kaziu was residing in Prizren, Kosovo. Another person was arrested the same day

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/22457/

A provocative report from the US Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare claims that the Balkans is about to heat up again as an Islamic terrorist base. This surpasses traditional nationalist rifts, claims author Yossef Boddansky, and is intended to increase al Qaeda infiltration. Thus the Balkan operations would be ultimately controlled by the Evil One, OBL.
http://www.southeasteurope.org/subpage.php?sub_site=2&id=10089&s_word=terrorist