News from Algeria 2007

[Al-khiyal]

MONTREAL -- Jean-Luc Brassard says the smile on Sandra Laoura's face is bigger than those of people coming to the hospital room to see the injured French moguls skier who may never walk again.

"She's amazing," Brassard, the 1994 Olympic men's moguls champion from Montreal who has known Laoura for several years and has been at her bedside at Montreal General Hospital, said Wednesday. "Sandra is so positive about what she wants to do. Her attitude fills the whole room. She's a fighter and she's going make this a very good fight."

The reigning Olympic bronze medallist remains in stable condition but without any sensation in her lower extremities after injuring her spine in practice last Friday for the Canada Post Freestyle Grand Prix, a FIS World Cup event held at Mont Gabriel on the weekend.

The 26-year-old Algerian-born French citizen, a resident of La Plagne and the top freestyle skier on the French team, underwent surgery hours after the injury, which occurred when she crashed after attempting an intricate aerial manoeuvre. The three-hour operation was performed by Dr. Rudy Reindl.

"She required urgent surgical management, which comprised of stabilization of the spine and decompression of the spinal cord. Surgery went accordingly," Jean Albert Ouellett, an orthopedic surgeon and reconstructive spine surgeon at Montreal General, said Wednesday as medical and French freestyle team officials met the media for the first time since the accident.

"The present medical condition is she's stable. She's an ideal patient. Her spirits are great. She's looking forward to returning to France, and that will be scheduled at an appropriate time."

Ouellett refused to say if Laoura would regain any sensation in her legs or the use of them.

"We're not in place to speculate whether that is going to come back or not," said Ouellett. "She needs to return to France to undertake a rehabilitation program. Time will tell with respect to her capabilities."

Ouellett said statistics show victims of similar trauma making a recovery, but added "when it comes to individuals, statistics do not apply. One needs to be optimistic, but only time will tell."

The surgeon described the spinal cord as an electrical system in which conductivity is necessary for messages to be carried down the spinal cord.

"It's a bit like a traffic jam," he said when the flow of messages is interrupted or stopped. "Sometimes the messages get through, but if there's a bottleneck, then the messages are not getting through."

Fabien Saguez, technical director of the national ski federation of France, read a letter from Laoura in which she thanked the medical team at the hospital and the hundreds of well-wishers who have sent messages. He added French President Jacques Chirac also had been in contact with the skier.

"She wants to thank everybody, particularly the staff here at the hospital, for all they're doing," said Saguez. "She sees this as a new (challenge) and she's determined (to) work to recover with the same intensity she displayed as a competitor."

Ouellett said Laoura will remain in hospital here "for a while" and until she is comfortable enough to return to France.

Paralysed skier in good spirits

[Al-khiyal]

Mauritania arrests 3 suspected members of Algerian militant group

Three Algerian suspects interrogated by Mauritanian police

[Al-khiyal]

THE accused spiritual leader of terror cells in Melbourne and Sydney has threatened to sack his lawyer and lead other alleged terrorists on a prison hunger strike in the lead-up to their mid-year trial.

Abdul Nacer Benbrika, charged with directing a terror organisation, is furious that prison authorities will not allow him and 12 other Melbourne men charged with terrorism-related offences to pray together on religious holidays and at congregational Friday afternoon prayers.

The Algerian-born self-styled cleric's wife, Rakia Abdullah, yesterday told The Australian that Mr Benbrika would give his lawyer, Bill Doogue, two weeks to rectify the prison situation.

"He's going to give his lawyer two weeks to fix this problem," said Ms Abdullah in an Arabic interview. "He's also planning to go on a hunger strike soon with the other men in there."

She said Mr Benbrika, also known as Abu Bakr, was told by some of the other terror suspects held with him at the maximum-security Acacia unit at Barwon prison, in Melbourne's southeast, that they too were prepared to sack their lawyers if their wishes were not met.

Any sacking of the lawyers, who have spent months scouring more than 700 hours of listening device and telephone intercept material, threatens to delay the men's trial.

Ms Abdullah, a mother of seven, said her husband and the other men accused prison authorities of refusing them access to "normal" religious books and CDs that they had been sent by family and friends. "They want the lawyers to improve their situation in prison," she said. "For instance, at present the men are not allowed to pray together, not even during religious celebrations such as the Eid or Friday prayers."

Several of the accused went on a hunger strike last January for similar reasons, complaining they weren't being fed enough or allowed to pray with each other.

Mr Benbrika, who faces 25 years' jail, is among 22 Melbourne and Sydney men charged with terrorism-related offences following joint ASIO and federal police raids in November 2005.

He was charged with being a member and director of a terrorist organisation, among other charges. Mr Benbrika is also accused of possessing two items - a bomb-making manual and the index to a book on jihad - connected with terrorism.

The other suspects are also charged with being members of a terrorist organisation.

Terror suspect threatens to sack lawyer

[Al-khiyal]

The Algerian army killed six members of the militant Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat as they hid near Skikda, about 250 miles east of Algiers, Algerian daily Al Khabar reported January 12, citing military sources. Algerian forces searching the group's hideout found Kalashnikov machine guns and the identification papers of militants who have been killed by police.

Algerian army kills six militants

[Al-khiyal]

TUNIS, Jan 12 (Reuters) - A criminal gang broken up by Tunisian security forces in a shoot-out last week were radical Islamists who infiltrated from Algeria, Tunisia's interior minister said on Friday.

"It concerns a group of terrorist Salafists who infiltrated (Tunisia) via the Algerian border," Rafik Belhadj Kacem was quoted by official news agency TAP as saying at a gathering of governing party officials.

"During the investigation, they found images of sites of some foreign embassies. They also confiscated documents containing a few names of foreign diplomats living in Tunisia and a quantity of traditional explosives."

A government source said last week that security forces shot dead 12 criminals and arrested 15 near Tunis after a rare gunbattle in the normally peaceful North African country.

Tunisia says gang smashed last week were Islamists

[Al-khiyal]

Tunisia says gang smashed last week were Islamists

Interior minister: Islamic extremists had names of foreign envoys, blueprints of embassies

[Al-khiyal]

Egyptian national attempts to smuggle two tons of kif