Israel holding al Qaeda Gitmo alum bio weapons expert

BBC:
Israel has secretly held a suspected al-Qaeda biological weapons expert since 2010, it has been revealed.

A military court placed Samir Abdul Latif al-Baraq in "administrative detention", which allows indefinite detention without charge or trial, after he was arrested in July 2010.

His detention was revealed on Monday when lawyers petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court for his release.

Israeli prosecutors say the Palestinian was planning attacks on Israelis.

They claim that releasing Mr Baraq would endanger the entire Middle East, but his lawyers have challenged them to produce any evidence.

According to court documents disclosed on Monday, Mr Baraq was born in Kuwait in 1974 and moved to Pakistan in 1997 to study microbiology.

The following year, he attended a militant training camp in Afghanistan, and in 2001 was recruited by Ayman al-Zawahiri, the current leader of al-Qaeda, the documents say.

He then allegedly acquired "knowledge and experience" in non-conventional weaponry.

Israeli prosecutors said Mr Baraq spent three months at the US military detention camp at Guantanamo Bay in 2003, and was imprisoned in Jordan between 2003 and 2008 for "terrorist activity" and involvement in an al-Qaeda biological weapon project.
...
It was a mistake to release this guy and raises serious question about the moves to release more al Qaeda detainees.  It would likewise be a mistake for Israel to let this guy go free.

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