Prague, Feb 13 (CTK) – Faouzi Jaber, the third man in the case of Lebanese Ali Fayad, suspected of terrorism in the USA, stays in custody in the Czech Republic since he asked for asylum there, but he was not granted it, daily Pravo wrote on Saturday.
The United States demands the extradition of Fayad, Khaled Marabi and Jaber, citizen of the Ivory Coast, on suspicion of cooperation with terrorists. However, the Czech Republic did not extradite them and Fayad and Marabi were released from custody last week, on the same day when five Czechs kidnapped in Lebanon returned home.
Speculations emerged, which Defence Minister Martin Stropnicky indirectly confirmed, that Fayad, an alleged collaborator of the Lebanese secret services, was swapped for the five Czechs.
Justice Minister Robert Pelikan (ANO), who gave the consent to Fayad’s release, could not decide on Jaber until the Interior Ministry made decision on his asylum proceedings, Jaber’s defence council Petr Jurak told Pravo on Saturday.
After his request for asylum was rejected these days, Pelikan can deal with Jaber’ further fate. He can either confirm the Czech courts’ verdicts and extradite him to the USA or, like in the case of Fayad and Marabi, refuse to sign his extradition and set him free. In such a case, Jaber would probably leave for Lebanon, Pravo writes.
According to its reliable source, Fayad and Marabi have been kept by Lebanese security forces in Beirut since last Thursday.
Jurak said his client told him that he would not appeal the negative stance on his asylum with the administrative court.
Consequently, Pelikan is likely to decide on him next week.
Pelikan confirmed the information in Pravo, but he refused to anticipate his decision.
It is not clear why Jaber applied for asylum in the Czech Republic at all, Pravo adds.
“I my opinion, he was afraid of extradition both to the United States and to Lebanon. It is known he was working for other intelligence services, not only for the Lebanese one, which he has admitted,” Jurak told Pravo without elaborating.
On the other hand, Jaber has a wife and a son in Lebanon and this is why he expected that he would leave with Fayad for Beirut, and he was surprised that he had not been released, Jurak said, adding that he explained the reason to him.
The United States says Fayad and the other two men wanted to sell cocaine and weapons to agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration who pretended being members of the Colombian terrorist organisation FARC. One of their meetings took place in a Prague hotel where they were arrested in 2014.
The were in custody in the Czech Republic from April 2014.In mid-December last year, the Prague High Court confirmed that they can be extradited to the United States, where they faced a life sentence. The final consent was to be given by Pelikan who did not sign their extradition.
