Edition: 338
Date: 08-09-03
What threatens to be an international row is building up after the arrest of Tayseer Alouni, a news correspondent, by Spanish police in Granada on Friday. Mr Alouni, who was born in Syria but now holds a Spanish passport, was arrested on the orders of Judge Baltasar Garzon on suspicion of links with the al-Qaeda terrorist organisation as part of an investigation into Islamic militant operations in Spain. Mr Alouni is the correspondent of the Arabic news channel al-Jazeera in Spain and became well-known throughout the Arab world for his coverage of the US-led war in Afghanistan. He was one a small number of reporters allowed to work under the Taleban regime and interviewed Osama Bin Laden in October 2001. Al-Jazeera's editor-in-chief Ibrahim Hilal said: "Anyone can have acquaintances who are linked to al-Qaeda, and this is not a crime". He said the Qatar-based television channel had contacted human rights organisations for support that the channel is being discriminated against. "There are other journalists who have relations with al-Qaeda suspects and there are other networks who air tapes and statements from al-Qaeda", said Mr Hilal. "Why is al-Jazeera's correspondent the one arrested then?" According to Spanish intelligence sources, Mr Alouni is being held under anti-terrorist laws so he could be held for three days while being questioned without access to a lawyer.
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