JEDDAH, 28 January 2005 — Philippine authorities have cleared Mohammad Abdullah Sughayer, a Saudi businessman held in the southern part of the country on suspicion of financing the Abu Sayyaf militant group, the Saudi ambassador in Manila has said.
Speaking to Arab News by telephone, Ambassador Muhammad Amin Wali underscored the “strong and distinguished relations” between Saudi Arabia and the Philippines, adding that the arrest would not affect bilateral ties.
“Immediately after hearing the news of the arrest, I had contacted official authorities who informed me that they have not leveled any charges against Sughayer,” Wali said.
Sughayer arrived in Riyadh yesterday. The ambassador said: “He was happy and I was present at the airport to see him off.”
Wali indicated that the arrest might have taken place because of “confusion or similarity in name. This could happen to any person anywhere in the world and does not mean there is any problem or any charges against this person,” he added.
Airport police and immigration agents, backed by marine soldiers, arrested Sughayer at the Zamboanga City International Airport when he arrived from Manila on Jan. 17, after his name was included in the government’s watch list.
Philippine immigration chief Alipio Fernandez said Sughayer was positively identified by a detained militant, Muhammad Umug, as one of the financiers of Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani. But police intelligence chief Ismael Rafanan later cleared Sughayer and said they had no evidence to link him to Al-Qaeda or terrorist groups in the southern Philippines. “He is not a member of the Al-Qaeda and he is not a terrorist,” he told reporters in Manila .
Abdul Rahman, brother of Sughayer, told Arab News that Sughayer had gone to the Philippines on a tourist visa. “He used to visit different countries for business purposes,” he said. Sughayer had earlier visited China and Indonesia. Abdul Rahman accused some parties of trying to tarnish the image of Islam and Saudi Arabia and fishing in troubled waters by linking his brother with terrorism. “We are a well known family in Saudi Arabia and we are involved in various business activities,” he said.
