Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Terror Charges Against Rashid Rauf Have Been Dropped

A Pakistani court has dropped the terrorism-related charges which had been filed against Rashid Rauf, who, as you may remember, was said to have been the mastermind, or the explosives expert, or the al-Q'aeda connection (or maybe two or even all three of the above) in the alleged "Liquid Bomb plot" which was supposedly broken up during the second week of August. According to the stories we were told at the time, Rashid Rauf's arrest in Pakistan triggered the arrests of 25 people in Britain and several more in Pakistan. I've written extensively about this alleged plot, and if you are interested in more of the background, you can find links to all my previous posts on the subject here.

Currently, as I understand it, Rashid Rauf is still in detention in Pakistan, facing other (non-terror-related) charges, and he could remain in prison for up to 14 years if he is convicted on all counts. But he is apparently no longer considered a suspect in the "Liquid Bomb plot", at least not by Pakistan. Britain may feel quite a bit differently, of course.

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LINKS

Reuters (USA): Pakistan court drops charge in London plot case

Agence France Presse (via Free Republic!): Pakistan drops British airline plot terror charge

Guardian Unlimited (UK): UK suspect avoids Pakistan terror charges

Online News (Pakistan): Terrorism charges dropped against Rashid Rauf

BBC: UK 'plot' terror charge dropped

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eleventh in a series