Mahathir says not aware of US bid to interrogate terror suspect
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today he knew nothing about a reported request by the United States to interrogate a detained Malaysian terror suspect over his alleged links to the Sept 11 attacks.
The Asian Wall Street Journal reported that the US was seeking permission to interview Yazid Sufaat in an apparent bid to strengthen its case against the so-called "20th hijacker", Zacarias Moussaoui, who is on trial in the US.
Yazid, who has been in detention here since last December, is alleged to have hosted Moussaoui during a visit to Malaysia a year before the attacks and to have provided him with a letter purportedly appointing him as US marketing agent for a Malaysian computer software company.
His apartment was also allegedly used in early 2000 by two men, Khalid al-Midhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi, who were aboard the hijacked plane which crashed into the Pentagon.
No evidence against Yazid has been presented in court as he is being held under the Internal Security Act which allows for indefinite detention without trial.
Asked about the reported request from the US government to interrogate Yazid, Mahathir said: "I know nothing about that. Whatever they do must be in accordance with the laws of our country."
Pressed on whether the US would be granted permission if indeed they asked for it, Mahathir said: "We have to have to go through the usual process of extradition."
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today he knew nothing about a reported request by the United States to interrogate a detained Malaysian terror suspect over his alleged links to the Sept 11 attacks.
The Asian Wall Street Journal reported that the US was seeking permission to interview Yazid Sufaat in an apparent bid to strengthen its case against the so-called "20th hijacker", Zacarias Moussaoui, who is on trial in the US.
Yazid, who has been in detention here since last December, is alleged to have hosted Moussaoui during a visit to Malaysia a year before the attacks and to have provided him with a letter purportedly appointing him as US marketing agent for a Malaysian computer software company.
His apartment was also allegedly used in early 2000 by two men, Khalid al-Midhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi, who were aboard the hijacked plane which crashed into the Pentagon.
No evidence against Yazid has been presented in court as he is being held under the Internal Security Act which allows for indefinite detention without trial.
Asked about the reported request from the US government to interrogate Yazid, Mahathir said: "I know nothing about that. Whatever they do must be in accordance with the laws of our country."
Pressed on whether the US would be granted permission if indeed they asked for it, Mahathir said: "We have to have to go through the usual process of extradition."
No official request
In March, police chief Norian Mai told reporters that US Federal Bureau of Investigation head Robert S Mueller had indicated his interest in questioning Yazid but that there was no official request for extradition.
Asked if Malaysia was prepared to allow the United States to interrogate Yazid, the police chief said: "That has not been decided on yet."
The FBI chief, who was in Malaysia as part of a tour of Asia-Pacific countries, praised Malaysian police efforts in providing intelligence in the fight against terrorism.
"Malaysian police have worked cooperatively with us in providing helpful information about terrorists and their potential acts," Mueller said.
A spokesman for the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur refused to comment on the reported request to interview Yazid.
Yazid is one of 62 suspected Islamic militants detained by Malaysia over the past year on allegations of plotting the overthrow of the government. AFP
