Prague, Feb 9 (CTK) – Lebanese Ali Fayad, whose extradition was demanded by the USA and who was released last Thursday, financed the trip of the five Czechs to Lebanon where they were kidnapped last summer, Fayad’s defence counsel Jan Svarc, one of the abducted men, told the Aktualne.cz server on Tuesday.
“I paid it (the trip) actually. I got money for it from Mr Fayad,” Svarc told the server about the trip to Lebanon.
The server writes that the information might provoke speculations about Svarc having lured the four Czechs to Lebanon to enable their swap for Fayad. However Svarc denied it.
He pointed out that at the time of their kidnapping, Fayad had succeeded with his complaint against his extradition to the United States. Had it not been for the abduction, Fayad and the other two detainees would have been released by a court decision last October already, Svarc added.
Apart from Svarc, the group in Lebanon comprised of interpreter Adam Homsi, two reporters, Miroslav Dobes and Pavel Kofron, and Military Intelligence officer Martin Psik.
The intelligence service wanted to additionally cover Psik’s journey, Svarc said. However, it is not clear whether it did so, the server writes.
Dobes confirmed Svarc’s words that the plane tickets and other costs connected with the trip had been covered from the money for Fayad’s defence. Dobes added that he had learnt it only later.
Fayad was in custody in the Czech Republic from April 2014 on suspicion of cooperation with terrorists. The United States demanded his extradition.
In mid-December last year, the Prague High Court confirmed that Fayad can be extradited to the United States, the same as another two men accused in his case – Faouzi Jaber and Khaled Marabi, from Ivory Coast.
Fayad was released from Czech custody on the same day when the five abducted Czechs returned to Prague. He was swapped for them, according to available information, which Defence Minister Martin Stropnicky confirmed in the press.
