Hani Abdul Rahim al Sayegh

Hani Abdul Rahim al Sayegh of Saudi Arabia arrived in Canada in August 1996 and applied for refugee status. The following spring he was arrested in Ottawa as part of a joint intelligence operation between Saudi, American, and Canadian agencies, based on his alleged role as the getaway driver in the June 1996 bombing at Khobar Towers in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia which killed 19 Americans. The FBI congratulated Saudi and Canadian forces for their quick work towards the apprehension. [Globe and Mail, Mar 25, 1997] Sayegh said that he was persecuted in Saudi Arabia for being part of a minority Shiite political movement, and that his family was being held under house arrest. The evidence against him was based largely on a meeting, believed to have occurred two years before the bombing, between Sayegh and Ahmad Sherifi a senior Iranian intelligence officer also accused. [Victoria Times - Colonist, Apr 14, 1997] Sayegh was deported to face charges in Saudi Arabia on June 17, 1998. [Terrorist organizations with links to Canada chart a lengthy course, National Post, Jan 13, 1999]

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