September 05, 2008	Friday	Ramazan 04, 1429

BERLIN, Sept 4: A German man of Pakistani origin suspected of raising money and recruiting fighters for Al Qaeda has been charged with membership in the terrorist group, federal prosecutors said on Thursday.

The suspect, identified as 46-year-old Aleem Nasir, was arrested in February at his home in the southwestern state of Rheinland-Palatinate and was charged on August 19.

According to a statement from German prosecutors, Nasir travelled “regularly” to Pakistan and “by summer 2004 at the latest” he had agreed with Al Qaeda leaders in the Pakistani-Afghan border region “to take part in Al Qaeda activities.”

His attorney, Manfred Gnjidic, said at the time of Nasir’s arrest that his client had not confessed to anything.

Nasir was quoted himself in Germany’s Stern magazine as saying he had made several trips to Pakistan not to visit terror camps, but to purchase precious stones.

But prosecutors said that between April 2005 and June 2007 he made at least four trips to Pakistan’s border region with Afghanistan, in one case handing over $21,732 to Al Qaeda and on another at least 5,795.20 in cash. He also is alleged to have provided the terrorist organisation with additional equipment such as binoculars, night-vision goggles, laser range-finders, digital compasses and radios.

“His duty is suspected to have been to acquire money and equipment in Germany for military use and recruit further members as well as fighters for the organisation,” prosecutors said in their statement.

“During his fourth trip to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area, the accused declared himself ready to take explosives training and become a fighter if necessary.”

Nasir then underwent the training, during which he sustained a “not insubstantial” injury on the under side of his right arm, the statement said.

Already in 2006, Nasir recruited another person living in Germany to join Al Qaeda, prosecutors said. Nasir allegedly wrote a letter of recommendation, which the recruit, who was not identified, used to secure a place in a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan.

At the beginning of 2007 he sent two more people from Germany, who also were not identified, with letters of recommendation to train with Al Qaeda, although only one reached the camp, prosecutors said.

If convicted of membership in a foreign terrorist organisation, Nasir, who has been in custody since his arrest, faces a possible 10 years in prison.

No trial date has been set.

Already in February, Gnjidic said Nasir had been arrested in Islamabad in June 2007 and held for two months. Gnjidic also said that his client was tortured by members of Pakistan’s intelligence service, the ISI, while in custody.--AP