Malaysia frees man accused of aiding 9/11 plotters

Malaysia has released a former army captain accused of helping the Sept. 11 hijackers and six other suspects who had been held without trial after deciding they no longer pose a threat, officials said Wednesday.

Three alleged members of the Southeast Asian terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah, two suspected Thai separatists and two Malaysians accused of spying for foreign intelligence agencies were released separately between Nov. 24 and Dec. 4, said Nalini Elumalai, a human rights activist.

The most prominent among them is Yazid Sufaat, an ex-army captain who allegedly let
several senior al-Qaida operatives, including two eventual Sept. 11 hijackers, use an apartment he owned for meetings in Malaysia in January 2000.

Some of the seven released suspects had been held since 2002 under the Internal Security Act, which allows indefinite detention without trial of people whom the government regards as threats to national security.

“We consider them no longer a threat. They will not harm public order or security of the nation,” Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar said.