JEDDAH, 9 May 2003 — The families of some of the suspected members of the terrorist cell denounced the way chosen by their sons saying they reject all forms of terrorism and violence and pledged full cooperation with the authorities to bring the plotters to justice.
A brother of Turki Nasser Mishaal Al-Dandani, 30, said the family had in the past reported to the authorities that their son went missing and offered to furnish any information on his whereabouts.
Another wanted terrorist, Othman Hadi Al-Amri, 37, left the family home after Haj in February and has since been missing. His mother, Aisha Abdullah Al-Amri, said his family were told Othman was killed in Iraq but they were unable to confirm the news.
“He left the house after Haj and we heard he was martyred in Iraq but we don’t know if the news was true,” the mother was quoted by Okaz as saying. Othman, who served for a while in the army as sergeant, married three times but divorced two of his wives. He has five children. One of Othman’s associates described him as short-tempered and said he was never known to be a religious man and was seldom seen offering prayers. He said Othman, who switched jobs frequently, has a criminal record and was once imprisoned for stealing a car. He has never been to Afghanistan or Chechnya.
Both his mother and wife, Aziza, insisted he was bewitched and consulted several sheikhs for treatment.
No one expected to see the picture of Khaled Al-Johani, 29, since his name appeared in a videotape distributed by the FBI last year as one of several people wanted by the American authorities. Khaled first traveled to Afghanistan when he was 18 and spent three years in Chechnya before returning to the Kingdom. He was in Afghanistan during the Sept. 11 attacks but left after the fall of the Taleban when he was reported to have crossed into Pakistan before discreetly returning to Saudi Arabia.
