January 28, 2005
Aftenpoften
A 52-year-old Norwegian citizen is being held in the high security prison Belmarsh outside of London, accused by British police of securing radioactive material for terrorist purposes.
British media imply the Somalian-born Norwegian may have connections to terrorist group al-Qaida, newspaper VG reports.
The 52-year-old was arrested in London last September, charged with procuring a kilo of radioactive red mercury, used in creating so-called 'dirty bombs', a combination of explosive and radioactive material.
The Norwegian, along with two others, is charged with conspiring to purchase bomb material for terrorist purposes and the Norwegian is also accused of possession a document of interest to terrorists. All three suspects have declared themselves not guilty.
Senior researcher Morten Bremer Mærli at the Norwegian Foreign Policy Institute told NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting) that British authorities were overreacting.
"Terrorists would not be able to create dangerous weapons or bombs from the substance that a Norwegian-Somalian is now charged with procuring for terrorist purposes," Mærli said.
The Norwegian suspect came to Norway in 1988, gained residency status in 1990 and became a Norwegian citizen in 1997. According to VG the man received social support in Norway despite running firms in Kenya and England, and he formally relocated to England in December 2003.
The Norwegian-Somalian was arrested after a News of the World journalist claimed to have infiltrated an extremist group and exposed terrorist plans. The journalist taped key conversations and the newspaper eventually cooperated closely with New Scotland Yard's anti-terrorism experts during the operation.
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article958098.ece