The two Yemenis arrested Monday morning in Amsterdam on suspicion of possibly planning a terrorist attack have been released, the Dutch public prosecutor’s office has said.
An investigation conducted in both the US and the Netherlands failed to find sufficient evidence of their involvement in a terrorist plot.
Schiphol
Ahmad Mohamed Nasser al-Soofi and Hezem al-Murisi were apprehended last Monday at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport while on a stopover to their destination, the Yemeni capital, Sanaa. They were arrested on the basis of information passed on by the US authorities. “The information was of such a serious nature that no risks could be taken,” a statement from the public prosecutor’s office said.
US security had spotted suspicious-looking items in Mr al-Soofi’s luggage, including a mobile phone taped to a plastic medicine bottle. The luggage was checked onto a plane bound for Washington, while the two were travelling from Amsterdam. Officials in the US say it appears they missed the flight and were re-routed by United Airlines to travel via Amsterdam.
Explosives
The luggage gave rise to suspicion and initial tests in the US found possible indications of a trace of explosives on one piece of luggage. Closer inspection proved the earlier reports to be groundless and the suspect items were found to be harmless. The two men were not any list of wanted terrorists.
The US Department of Homeland Security had earlier disclosed that it was unlikely that the two Yemeni men knew each other. Initial reports that the men may have been carrying out a dry run for an attack had also been withdrawn.
Dutch lawyer Klaas-Arjen Krikke says that the arrests have damaged the reputation of the two men. “Their names and surnames were broadcast to the world as those of terrorists. What has happened here will win no beauty prize. The Americans, specifically, are responsible. Disgraceful!”
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Lula pide un acuerdo con las FARC
Reunión con Santos
Brasilia fue la escala inicial del primer viaje al exterior del colombiano Juan Manuel Santos. Ayer se encontró con Lula da Silva, quien conversó sobre la importancia que el gobierno brasileño le adjudica a la resolución “negociada” del conflicto con las FARC. Tal como contó el asesor internacional del presidente brasileño Marco Aurelio García, durante la charla Lula indicó que Brasil “está muy atento” a la evolución del enfrentamiento entre el gobierno de Colombia y los guerrilleros.
Durante el discurso que pronunció luego de encontrarse con su colega colombiano, Lula sostuvo que “nada justifica el empleo del terrorismo como instrumento de política”. No obstante, su asesor García insistió en la tesis brasileña de no clasificar de “terrorista” a las FARC. “Nosotros no somos una agencia de calificaciones” sostuvo el asesor presidencial en política externa. Santos ratificó en el encuentro el “firme compromiso” con la integración sudamericana, especialmente con UNASUR.
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