JEDDAH, 20 March 2005 — Turkey’s chief public prosecutor has formally ruled that there is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that Saudi businessman and philanthropist Yassin Abdullah Al-Qadi has had contact with or has assisted the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization.
Al-Qadi’s lawyers at Peter Carter-Ruck and Partners said that the ruling followed an extensive and prolonged investigation covering Al-Qadi’s personal, commercial and charitable activities.
The probe concluded that, far from being a member or supporter of Al-Qaeda, Al-Qadi was above board and his actions were at all times wholly legitimate. Consequently, the prosecutor declared that there was no ground for proceedings to be brought against Al-Qadi.
Al-Qadi’s name was, in October 2004, added to the UN’s list of persons suspected of financing terrorism at the insistence of the United States.
Reacting to the Turkish decision, Al-Qadi said he was extremely pleased that truth had prevailed. He felt that the Turkish investigation was the first truly objective inquiry into the allegations linking him with Al-Qaeda that had surfaced in the aftermath of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Regarding a similar US case against him, he urged the US authorities to deal with it in a similarly objective fashion and to have the courage to admit that its allegations against him are entirely wrong.
Last year, lawyers of the prominent Saudi businessman revealed how a French investigator used the name of the United Nations to try to validate and promote a report falsely accusing him of financing terrorism. Al-Qadi also had his assets in several countries frozen.
Al-Qadi felt he had been subjected to great injustice on the basis of flawed and grossly inaccurate accusations by the authorities in the US, the United Kingdom, Bosnia and Albania.
