TEHRAN, 29 June 2004 — Iran may take two or three years to put its Al-Qaeda detainees on trial, Iranian government spokesman Abdollah Ramazanzadeh said yesterday.
When asked whether the trial of Al-Qaeda suspects was close, he told a news conference: “Our judiciary procedures are normally long. It takes more than two or three years until some cases begin and this file is in the same framework.” Hossein Mousavian of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said earlier this month the Islamic Republic was close to trying a group of Al-Qaeda members it suspects of plotting terrorist attacks inside the country.
Mousavian described the suspects as mid-ranking Al-Qaeda members and said they were still being questioned in jail. The United States accuses Iran of harboring Al-Qaeda militants who escaped Afghanistan after US troops invaded in late 2001 after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Iran, which says it was always ideologically opposed to the Sunni Al-Qaeda network, denies providing safe haven to Al-Qaeda members and says the suspects are behind bars, but has refused to name them or hand them to Washington.
The most senior figure that Western intelligence agencies say may be there is Saif Al-Adel, an Egyptian. Iran denies the allegation. Ramazanzadeh said those from states with friendly ties to Iran would be extradited to their countries.
But those who had committed crimes against Iran or who were from countries with rocky relations with Tehran would be prosecuted by Iran.
