My ties with Bin Laden started in Jeddah: Adel Batterjee

[email protected] (Saudi Gazette)
January 26, 2013
Jeddah, Jan 26: Saudi businessman Dr. Adel Batterjee, whose name was removed from the list of the Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee recently, said he has known Osama Bin Laden for long, from the time he was in Jeddah.osama

“My relations with him was very good, and we moved to Afghanistan together,” Batterjee said. “Takfiri ideology was already in existence in Peshawar, but was not widespread. We fought this ideology with all our strength, in our gatherings…in our Friday sermons,” he added.

“The reason for our fight against this (ideology) was because we were keen not to lure the fighters into this wrongful thought. Bin Laden at that time was not following this creed, and I swear on this,” the Saudi businessman said in an exclusive interview with Okaz, a sister publication of Saudi Gazette.

“We went our separate ways, when Bin laden traveled to Pakistan and from there to Sudan in 1991. I did not see him after that,” Batterjee said. “Since then I've had not direct or indirect links with him.”

The Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee list was issued following Sept. 11 attacks in the United States by the United Nations Security Council.

The Saudi businessman's name was deleted after Batterjee protested “it was unfairly put on the list” on Dec. 23, 2004.

Batterjee told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that he was surprised to see his name on the list, adding that the UN committee had not taken any measures to acquit him of the charges against him.

He submitted documentary evidence to Canadian Judge Kimberly Prost, who chaired a committee that was formed in 2010 to look into the list and decide which names should be removed. After reviewing all documents, Prost decided that Batterjee's name should be deleted from the list.

After Batterjee's name appeared on the list, the committee imposed a travel ban, froze his assets and prevented him from engaging in business activities around the world.

Comments

ali
 - 
Friday, 8 Sep 2017

Batterjee remained active in BIF despite having officially resigned as Director, and he established another orginazation HAAD ,

 

I wonder why Batterjee are set free to finance terrorism 

 

he is big liar 

i think its the time to punish him for his crime

 

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News Network
March 25,2020

London, Mar 25: Prince Charles on Wednesday has tested positive for the novel coronavirus and is working from home with mild symptoms, according to UK media.
A Clarence House spokesperson said the Prince of Wales was "displaying mild symptoms but otherwise remains in good health and has been working from home throughout the last few days as usual", the Telegraph UK reported.
"He has been displaying mild symptoms but otherwise remains in good health and has been working from home throughout the last few days as usual," the spokesperson added.
In accordance with the government and medical advice, the 71-year old heir to the British throne and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, are now self-isolating at their home in Scotland.
The Duchess of Cornwall has also been tested but does not have the virus.
The tests were carried out by the NHS in Aberdeenshire where they met the criteria required for testing.
"It is not possible to ascertain from whom the Prince caught the virus owing to the high number of engagements he carried out in his public role during recent weeks," the statement further said.

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News Network
May 12,2020

May 12: Gunmen stormed a hospital on Tuesday in an ongoing attack in the Afghan capital Kabul, as a suicide blast killed 15 people at a funeral in the country's restive east.

Special forces rescued 80 people including mothers and babies from the Kabul hospital after three gunmen launched a morning assault, killing at least four people, the interior ministry said in a statement.

Heavily armed forces were seen carrying babies wrapped in blankets away from the scene, as the clearance operation continued.

The facility, which has a large maternity ward, is located in the west of the city, home to the capital's minority Shiite Hazara community -- a frequent target of Sunni militants from the Islamic State group.

The flare-up in violence comes as Afghanistan grapples with myriad crises including a rise in militant operations across the country and a surge in coronavirus infections.

A paediatrician who fled the hospital told AFP he heard a loud explosion at the entrance of the building.

"The hospital was full of patients and doctors, there was total panic inside," he said, asking not to be named.

The maternity services at the hospital are supported by humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

"Hospitals and health workers must not be attacked. We call on all sides to stop attacking hospitals and health workers," said deputy health minister in the city, Waheed Majroh.

Around an hour later, a suicide bomber killed at least 15 people at the funeral of a local police commander in the country's eastern Nangarhar province, according to provincial spokesman Ataullah Khogyani.

The attacker detonated his explosives in the middle of the ceremony.

Zaher Adel, spokesman for the government hospital in Jalalabad, earlier said 12 bodies had arrived from the blast site and more than 50 people were being treated for injuries.

Amir Mohammad, who was wounded in the blast, said thousands of people had gathered for the funeral, an event which often draws huge crowds in Afghanistan.

The violence comes just a day after four roadside bombs exploded in a northern district of Kabul, wounding four civilians including a child.

The bombings were later claimed by the Islamic State group, according to the SITE intelligence group.

They were just the latest in a string of IS attacks on the capital.

In March, at least 25 people were killed by a gunman at a Sikh temple in Kabul, which was later claimed by the group.

IS is also responsible for an infamous attack in March 2017 on one of the country's largest hospitals, when gunmen disguised as doctors stormed the Kabul building and killed dozens.

In recent months, the jihadist group has suffered mounting setbacks after being hunted by US and Afghan forces as well as Taliban offensives targeting their fighters, but it still retains the ability to launch major assaults on urban centres.

The Taliban have largely refrained from launching large attacks on Afghan cities since February when they signed a landmark withdrawal deal with the US meant to pave the way for peace talks with the Kabul government.

Under the agreement, the Taliban promised not to target forces from the US-led coalition, but made no such pledge toward Afghan troops and have stepped up attacks in the provinces.

The Taliban have denied involvement in both of Tuesday's attacks.

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News Network
May 19,2020

May 18: Risk managers expect a prolonged global recession as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, a report by the World Economic Forum showed on Tuesday.

Two-thirds of the 347 respondents to the survey - carried out in response to the outbreak - put a lengthy contraction in the global economy top of their list of concerns for the next 18 months.

Half of risk managers expected bankruptcies and industry consolidation, the failure of industries to recover and high levels of unemployment, particularly among the young.

“The crisis has devastated lives and livelihoods. It has triggered an economic crisis with far-reaching implications and revealed the inadequacies of the past," said Saadia Zahidi, managing director of the World Economic Forum.

Environmental goals risk being discarded as a result of the pandemic, the report said, but governments should try to carve out a "green recovery".

"We now have a unique opportunity to use this crisis to do things differently and build back better economies that are more sustainable, resilient and inclusive," Zahidi said.

The report was compiled by the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Advisory Board together with Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc and Zurich Insurance Group.

Risk managers were surveyed between April 1 and 13.

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