Students Held In Yemen Returned On June 2 – Anifah
J-on
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Wednesday, June 9, 2010
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Putrajaya, June 9 - The two Malaysian students held in Yemen on suspicion of being involved in the al-Qaeda network were released on May 30 and returned to Malaysia last Wednesday, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said on Wednesday.
He said an investigation conducted by the Malaysian embassy in Yemen found that they were not involved with al-Qaeda or any terrorist organisation as presumed.
"They were just students ignorant of the requirements," he said of Raziff Mohd Arif, 18, and Azizul Alfian, 22, who were held when they visited a village outside the capital, Sanaa, without a permit.
"However, we respect the laws of Yemen," he told reporters after members of the Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) student representatives council called on him at the Foreign Ministry, here.
The two students were held along with 58 other individuals on suspicion of having been involved in the al-Qaeda network and having links with Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian national who attempted to blow up a plane in the United States last Christmas.
The two students, both of whom are from Sungai Buloh, Selangor, had been pursuing Arabic studies at a university in Sanaa.
Anifah instructed the Malaysian embassies in Yemen, Egypt and Jordan to brief Malaysian students in those countries on the relevant local laws.
-- BERNAMA
