Swedish newspaper claims a terrorist suspect has applied for asylum in the Czech Republic

According to a Swedish newspaper, a Swedish citizen of Lebanese origin who is being held in the Czech Republic pending the outcome of a hearing to extradite him to the United States on terrorism charges has applied for asylum in this country. The Swedish daily Expressen claims that Oussama Kassir has asked for asylum in the Czech Republic because he is disappointed with how the Swedish authorities have handled his detention in this country.

Mr Kassir is wanted in the US on suspicion of running an Al-Qaeda training camp in Oregon. Although he was exonerated of terrorist-related offences by a Swedish court, he was arrested on the basis of an international arrest warrant during a brief stopover in Prague while he was flying from Stockholm to the Lebanon in December 2005. The Czech authorities have neither confirmed nor denied Mr Kassir's alleged asylum application.