Court orders exradition of two terror suspects to belgium

BY FRED MAKANA

Kenya: Two terror suspects are set to be extradited to Belgium to answer terrorism-related charges after serving a one-year jail term in Kenya.

The two, an Algerian Mohamed Said alias Ben Abdellah Smail and Rachid Benomari, a French national, voluntarily accepted before Nairobi Principal Magistrate Joseph Karanja to be extradited to Belgium where they are facing terrorism and organised crimes related offences.

Victor Mule from the DPP’s office told the court that an international arrest warrant was issued on January 17 through the Belgian Embassy in Nairobi which asked the Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko to arrest and surrender the two suspects upon completing their sentence in Kenya.

Said and Benomari through a French interpreter, Thursday informed the court that they had voluntarily given consent to the extradition process and were not influenced by anybody.

However, the two will have to wait for 15 days according to the law before they are surrendered to the Belgian embassy to be extradited to Brussels.

According to the DPP’s office, the two were arrested by Anti-Terrorism Police Unit officers in Malindi on July 4 last year on suspicion that they were intending to commit a terror attack in Kenya after their arrival from Somalia.

They were later found to be illegally in the country after they confessed to have sneaked in via Somalia.

However, the information gathered by ATPU could not warrant terrorism charges and were charged with an immigration offence.

Said, Benomari and a Kenyan were found guilty of the offence and were sentenced to one year in jail.