Brazil latest base for Islamic extremists

With preparations for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro well under way, security experts have expressed fears that terrorists are “taking advantage” of weaknesses in the country’s laws.

Brazil has not passed any specific anti-terrorism legislation, does not recognize Hizbollah or Hamas as terrorist groups and disbanded the Federal Police’s anti-terrorism service in 2009.

Now, Veja, a weekly news magazine, has had access to reports compiled by the service as well as documents about the terrorist threat sent to Brazil by the FBI, CIA, Interpol and the US Treasury.

It says the papers show 21 men linked to Islamic extremist groups including al-Qaeda, have been using Brazil for various purposes including controlling inflows of money and planning attacks.

They include Khaled Hussein Ali, who was born in Lebanon but now lives in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s biggest city, from where he runs an internet cafe.

However, according to Veja he is also in control of an online communications arm of al-Qaeda called Jihad Media Battalion, which has a presence in 17 countries around the world and spreads communications from al-Qaeda leaders as well as publicising attacks.

Another of those named is Mohsen Rabbani, an Iranian wanted by Interpol as the suspected architect of bombings on Jewish targets in Buenos Aires in the 1990s that killed 114 people.

According to the documents, he frequently slips in and out of Brazil on a false passport and has recruited at least 24 youngsters in three Brazilian states to attend “religious formation” classes in Tehran.

“Without anybody noticing, a generation of of Islamic extremists is appearing in Brazil,” said Alexandre Camanho de Assis, who co-ordinates Brazil’s network of public prosecutors across 13 states.

The papers also show that the US Treasury described the poorly policed Tri-border area, where Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay meet, as a “financial artery” for Hizbollah.

Daniel Lorenz, a former head of the Federal Police’s intelligence department and now Security Secretary for the Federal District, that includes the capital Brasilia, warned that Brazil risks being caught out.

“The terrorists are taking advantage of the fragility of Brazilian legislation,” he said.