Menad Benchellali

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Menad Benchellali is a suspected terrorist arrested in France on January 6, 2004. [1] Benchellali is alleged to have been an al Qaeda chemical weapons specialist.

According to the Washington Post, Benchellali was known as "the chemist. [2] French investigators assert that, when Benchellali returned to France, from Afghanistan, he built a home lab in his bedroom, where he manufactured ricin.

Benchellali is reported to have sent his younger brother and a friend, Nizar Sassi, to Afghanistan. [3] Mourad and Sassis were captured and detained in Guantanamo.

Benchellali, was convicted, along with 24 others, on June 14, 2006 for their roles in planning a terrorist attack that was to have taken place in France to support Chechen independence. [4] Benchellali was described as the group's leader, and received a 10-year sentence. Benchellali's father, a younger brother, and his mother were also convicted for their roles.

Mourad Benchellali published a book about his experiences, and on June 14, 2006 the New York Times published an op-ed by Mourad, in which he blamed Menad for tricking him into attending a military training camp on what he thought would be a kind of vacation. [5] [6] Mourad said he was looking forward to his day in court, for attending that training camp, after spending years in detention, without charge, in Guantanamo.

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References

  1. ↑ Henley, Jon (January 12, 2004). "Al-Qaida terror plot foiled, say French police". The Guardian . Guardian News & Media Limited . Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  2. ↑ Warrick, Jo (May 4, 2004). "An Al Qaeda 'Chemist' and the Quest for Ricin". Washington Post . Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  3. ↑ Chang, Alice. "Nizar Sassi: A French Detainee Waiting to Return Home". Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism . Archived from the original on 14 September 2005. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  4. ↑ "French court convicts 25 for planning attack". The Globe and Mail . June 14, 2006. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  5. ↑ Smith, Craig S. (June 14, 2006). "French Court Sentences 25 Islamic Extremists". New York Times . Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  6. ↑ Smith, Craig S. (14 June 2006). "French court sentences 25 Islamic extremists - Europe - International Herald Tribune". The International Herald Tribune . The New York Times Company . Retrieved 18 December 2019– via NY Times.


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