German-Afghani terror suspect links Iran to al-Qaida

Ahmad Wali Siddiqui says in trial that Islamic Republic supports the terrorist group.

By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL, JERUSALEM POST CORRESPONDENT
Al-Qaida's Ayman al-Zawahri 311 (photo credit: reuters)
Al-Qaida's Ayman al-Zawahri 311
(photo credit: reuters)
KOBLENZ – Ahmad Wali Siddiqui, a German-Afghani who is alleged to have been a member of al-Qaida, said on both Monday and Tuesday during his trial that Iran harbored al-Qaida terrorists.
The revelations were fresh evidence of Shi’ite Iran’s ongoing support of Sunni terrorists in al-Qaida and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
“Life in Germany is not good. You live with gays, lesbians and Jews. Islam rules here,” Siddiqui, 37, told his mother in Hamburg in a wiretapped telephone conversation disclosed during his trial. He is charged with being a member of a terrorist organization.
A group of German Islamists planned to return from Pakistan in 2010 to mount attacks targeting Europe’s economy. American forces in Kabul arrested Siddiqui in 2010 when he was on his way to Germany.
He said during the trial that two of his fellow conspirators – Rami Makanesi and Naamen Meziche – flew from Vienna to Tehran so as  “to not get caught.” An Iranian-operated travel agency in Hamburg arranged their trip.
Makanesi and Meziche established contact with a facilitator known as “Dr. Mamoud,” who works for the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Siddiqui continued.
The travel route allowed the two men to travel unimpeded to the eastern Iranian city of Zahedan, which serves a hub for terrorists seeking to enter Afghanistan and Pakistan. Dr. Mamoud “welcomed them” to Zahedan and from the border city they made their way into Pakistan, Siddiqui said.
Pakistani authorities arrested Makanesi in 2010 while disguised as a woman wearing a burka. Meziche is believed to be in Iran.
Click here for full Jpost coverage of the Iranian threat
Click here for full Jpost coverage of the Iranian threat
Presiding Judge Angelika Blettner poised tough questions to Siddiqui about his views toward the West and Jews. She said his anti-Jewish and homophobic comments revealed contempt for life in Germany. When asked by federal prosecutor Bernd Steudl who had taught him to hate Jews, gays and lesbians, Siddiqui replied that “every mujahideen [people involved in jihad] holds this opinion.”
Siddiqui said at the trial, “I have nothing against Jews.”
Sources connected to the trial said it is expected to reveal an intricate network among al-Qaida members, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and other Islamic terrorist groups operating in Europe, Afghanistan and Pakistan.