MADRID, May 16 (UPI) -- A reporter for al-Jazeera, the Arab satellite TV network, Monday denied he had ties to the alleged leader of the al-Qaida terrorist group in Spain.
Tayseer Alouni, who holds both Syrian and Spanish citizenship, told prosecutors during a trial of accused al-Qaida operatives that he was not in any way involved with them, El Mundo newspaper reported in its online edition.
Prosecutors allege the al-Jazeera reporter formed an alliance with Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas, who is the lead suspect in the trial of 24 suspects accused of aiding the Sept. 11 bombers.
Among those also charged with "terrorist murder" is al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, but Spanish law prohibits a trial in absentia.
Alouni was questioned at length about an interview he had with bin Laden in October 2001 just days after the U.S.-led attack on Afghanistan began.
