Release for Canadian with alleged terror ties
Aaron Yoon linked to group implicated in attack in Algeria earlier this year,
NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania A 24-year-old Canadian is to be released from jail after being sentenced to 18 months and a $2,000 fine for alleged ties to al-Qaida’s North African branch, known as al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
The Mauritanian appeals court decided Sunday to free Canadian national Aaron Yoon, the same day as his sentencing, because he has already been imprisoned for the duration of his sentence, prosecutor Ahmed Ould Abdalla said. Yoon was arrested in 2011. Prosecutors had sought a 10-year sentence for Yoon due to what they claimed was his “link to dangerous terrorist activity and his role in the recruitment of jihadists.”
Yoon has denied he had any ties to terrorism, saying he came to Mauritania only to learn Arabic and study the Qur’an.
Yoon reportedly travelled to the region with two other Canadians who were implicated in a terror attack on a natural gas plant in southeastern Algeria earlier this year, one of the largest attacks in recent memory. It ended with the deaths of 37 hostages, including American, French, Irish and Japanese nationals.
Responsibility for the attack was claimed by Moktar Belmoktar, a former commander of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, who split off from the al-Qaida chapter late last year in order to create his own group.
Belmoktar had previously carried out several attacks in Mauritania, which has served as a fertile recruiting ground for the jihadists, who now have several Mauritanians in their ranks.
In April, Canadian police confirmed the identities of two Canadians who were killed at the Ain Amenas gas plant in southeastern Algeria: Ali Medlej and Xristos Katsiroubas. Algeria’s government has said they were involved in the attack as hostage-takers.
During several visits by Amnesty International Canada, Yoon claimed he was tortured in detention. The torture led him to sign a confession that has been used against him, said Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada.
He said Amnesty has no way of verifying the claims linking Yoon to al-Qaida. “But it was very clear to us that there are serious human rights concerns, including torture.”
Yoon attended high school in Ontario with Medlej and Katsiroubas. Yoon has said he didn’t know how Medlej and Katsiroubas had become linked with militants. He said he heard about the gas plant attack while in prison, and that it was “news” to him.
Neve said he didn’t know when Yoon would be permitted to leave the country, but that he was anxious to see his family back in Canada.
Yoon told Amnesty he was beaten in police custody soon after being detained. “I couldn’t answer many of their questions without a translator anyway as my Arabic was still pretty basic,” he said.
He told Amnesty he was beaten and hit with sticks of wood until he lost consciousness. Amnesty also reported he said later that his hands and feet were tied behind his back, and the beating resumed after he was laid down on his stomach.
Amnesty said it was after this second round of torture that he agreed to sign the confession saying he had planned to travel to Mali to join up with al-Qaida. Amnesty said the confession was never read or translated for him.