Hezbollah suspects in Nigeria terror plot claim abusive interrogation by Mossad agents
Lebanese men accused of plotting attacks on Israeli, Western interests face trial following May arrest.
By JPOST.COM STAFFnigeria security with hezbollah seized ammunition 370(photo credit: REUTERS)
Two alleged Hezbollah operatives on trial for plotting terror attacks in Nigeria claimed Monday that they were subjected to days of rough interrogation at the hands of Mossad agents following their arrests in May, AFP reported.The two Lebanese men, Mustapha Fawaz and Abdallah Thahini, were arrested between May 16 and May 28, along with a third suspect Tala Ahmed Roda, after a raid on one of their residences in the northern city of Kano revealed a stash of heavy weapons.The city's military spokesman Captain Ikedichi Iweha said following the arrests that "the arms and ammunition were targeted at facilities of Israel and Western interest in Nigeria." All three men had admitted to being members of Hezbollah under questioning, Iweha added.Testifying in a Nigerian court on Monday, Fawaz was quote by AFP as saying that he had been interrogated by six "crude and nasty" Mossad agents over 14 days."They handcuffed my hands behind my back for days. I lost count because they did not allow me to sleep for several days...I was interrogated in Arabic. I asked to be interrogated in English, but they refused. Most of them are weak in English. They are not Europeans, but Israelis."Fawaz, who denied being a member of Hezbollah in his testimony on Monday, added that the alleged Mossad agents "asked me about my link with Hezbollah, but they concentrated more on Lebanon -- whether I knew if there are weapons stored in the south of Lebanon or the identities of people who have been trained by Hezbollah."Thahini, who told the court that he was no longer a member of Hezbollah, said that he had been denied sleep for five days by the alleged Mossad interrogators. He said that he knew by their accents that they were Israelis, according to AFP.Both suspects denied any knowledge of the arms cache or a terror plot. AFP reported that the trial was adjourned until September 30 after both the prosecution and defense concluded their cases.
