Islamic extremist lived with al-Qaida
operative in Japan
Japan Economic Newswire - September 15, 2004 Wednesday
TOKYO, Sept. 16 - A man suspected of having been active as a mujahedeen in
Bosnia-Herzegovina entered Japan in April 1999 and lived in Gunma Prefecture
with a French man suspected of being a senior al-Qaida member who is now in
French custody, the National Police Agency said Thursday.
The man, who is in his 30s and believed to belong to an Islamic extremist group,
entered Japan on a valid Bosnia-Herzegovina passport and was expelled from the
country in 2000 for overstaying his visa, the NPA said.
During his stay in Japan, he lived with the 33-year-old French man, Lionel
Dumont, in Isesaki in Gunma Prefecture.
Dumont was arrested in Germany in December last year and is currently in French
custody. He was found to have stayed in Japan for about a year on a fake
passport until last September.
The NPA said it does not recognize the man from Bosnia-Herzegovina as a member
of the al-Qaida terrorist network and it is still unclear whether the man had
been engaged in terrorist activities in Japan.
After he left Japan, the man was put on an international wanted list in August
2000 by French authorities on suspicion of being involved in activities as a
member of a terrorist organization, they said. He was arrested in Bosnia and has
already completed his jail term in France.
The man had registered himself as an alien resident in Japan and had submitted
the address of an Algerian resident of Japan, who is also suspected of being
linked to al-Qaida, as his own address.
The Algerian was arrested in a Paris suburb by French authorities Sept. 1 as
part of investigations into Dumont.
The Algerian had reportedly lived in Japan for about 10 years running a used car
business. He allegedly employed Dumont in 2002 when he was staying in Japan.
The Algerian man has reportedly told the police that he did not know about
Dumont's personal history when he hired him.
Copyright 2004 Kyodo News Service
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