December 29, 2001: Assistant to Al-Qaeda Malaysia Summit Arrested, Later Released without Being Charged

Ahmad Sajuli Abdul Rahman is arrested in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. [Utusan Malaysia, 1/5/2002]
Links to Al-Qaeda Summit – Sajuli, believed to be an operative of Jemaah Islamiyah, al-Qaeda’s Southeast Asian affiliate, did not attend an important al-Qaeda summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in January 2000 (see January 5-8, 2000), but he took some of the attendees around Kuala Lumpur. [US Congress, 10/17/2002] According to the later Guantanamo file of summit attendee Abu Bara al-Taizi (a.k.a. Zohair Mohammed Said), one of the attendees Sajuli escorted around town was 9/11 hijacker Khalid Almihdhar. Sajuli also helped arrange al-Taizi’s transportation at the end of the summit. [US Department of Defense, 10/25/2008] Sajuli’s arrest is part of a wave of over a dozen arrests in Malaysia that also gets Yazid Sufaat, one of the summit attendees (see December 19, 2001). [Utusan Malaysia, 1/5/2002]
Held without Charge or Trial – Malaysian law allows for suspects to be held without charge or trial for up to two years, and this can be extended for additional two year periods. In early 2004, it will be announced that Sajuli’s detention will be extended for another two years. [Human Rights Watch, 2/26/2004] However, apparently will be released before that two year period is up, because there will be no further news of his detention.