MADRID/AMMAN, 10 September 2003 — A lawyer representing an Al-Jazeera journalist held in Spain on suspicion of links to Al-Qaeda said yesterday he was optimistic his client would be freed within 24 hours.

Manuel de Prado said a High Court judge would decide late night today whether to release — or proceed with the trial — of Tayseer Alouni, famed for interviewing Osama Bin Laden shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

“I understand that we will have good news,” de Prado told Reuters, indicating that Alouni’s release would probably be based on his testimony in front of investigating Judge Baltasar Garzon on Monday.

Alouni was arrested at his home last week in southern Spain on suspicion of providing information and living expenses to Al-Qaeda operatives.

He denies the allegations, which have nothing to do with his October 2001 interview with Bin Laden.

On Monday, Garzon ordered Alouni to be held for 72 hours pending further police investigations.

Prosecutors said Alouni told Garzon he had paid $3,000 to $4,000 to members of Al-Qaeda on five or six occasions dating to 1995 when he traveled to Afghanistan and Turkey, but said he did so out of solidarity with Syrian exiles in those countries.

Police suspect that Alouni belonged to an Al-Qaeda cell in Spain. The journalist said at times he invited suspected Al-Qaeda members, currently under arrest in Spain, to his house and helped them with Spanish paperwork.

Alouni’s arrest drew criticism from Arab human rights groups and journalist organizations as well as his colleagues at Qatar-based Arab TV network Al-Jazeera, who called on Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar to release him.

Jordan’s Press Association has urged Spain to release Alouni, saying the detention of the Arab correspondent violated human rights, a statement said yesterday.

“Targeting and arresting journalists because of their professional activities... contradicts the principles of human rights and international conventions guaranteeing freedom of expression,” the statement said.

It quoted the head of the press association Tareq Momeni as urging the Spanish authorities “to immediately free” Alouni.

Momeni also paid tribute to Alouni’s work in Afghanistan and Iraq.

On Saturday, the Jordanian Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists called for Alouni’s immediate release.

“Journalists should not be accused over the nature of their work which calls on them to build a network of contacts with people or organizations, some of whom could be wanted by certain countries,” it said.

Spain, one of the staunchest supporters of the US-led war in Iraq and its global campaign against terrorism, has made dozens of high-profile arrests of suspected militants since the September 2001 attacks. Many of those accused of links with groups like Al-Qaeda have subsequently been released.