KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 24 — A witness told the High Court here today that the former Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee Yazid Sufaat had once asked him to start a network in Syria to ease the movement of Malaysians into the country.
Muhamad Razin Sharhan Mustafa Kamal, 24, who was once detained in Beirut, Lebanon, on suspicion of involvement in Al-Qaeda, said Yazid told him that if he managed to enter Syria, he shouldn’t go quickly into war, but should start a network for fellow Malaysians.
“Razif Mohd Arif and I had once attended an usrah at Yazid’s house and during breakfast one morning, Razif spoke about our intention to go to Syria.
“That was when Yazid said that if we managed to get there, we shouldn’t go straight to war, but instead should start a network for fellow Malaysians to go to Syria,” he said in the trial of Yazid, 51, and a cafeteria assistant Muhammad Hilmi Hasim, 35, who were charged with promoting acts of terrorism in Syria.
Muhamad Razin said his intention of going to Syria was to commit jihad by fighting against the brutality of Bashar Al-Assad’s army and helping the oppressed and innocent people of Syria.
He said he was more determined to go to Syria after attending five sessions of usrah at Yazid’s house on July 7, 14, 21 and 28, as well as on Aug 4, 2012.
“The content of Yazid’s talks during the usrah had really motivated me to go and commit jihad in Syria, simply because I don’t want to become a ‘munafik’ (hypocrite). Yazid said among the criteria of a munafik was that he wouldn’t want to go to war and hated those who wanted to do so,” he said.
When asked by the deputy public prosecutor Ishak Mohd Yusoff whether he had undergone a military training before, Muhamad Razin said never, but agreed that his trip to Syria was also to enable him to undergo a military training.
On his flight to Turkey, the 25th prosecution witness said he and Razif left for Turkey at 12.30 am on Oct 3, 2012 and arrived in Istanbul at 7 am the following day.
Once arrived, he said Razif contacted a Syrian man known as Abu Hassan who came to see them at a bread shop before taking them to a budget hotel.
“That night, Abu Hassan came to see us again and talked to us about firearms. He said if we wanted to purchase firearms, he could arrange it and the weapons will be at our disposal in Syria,” said Muhamad Razin who brought cash of RM2,000 to Syria.
However, he said on Oct 5, 2012, they were detained by the Turkish authority before being ordered to leave the country, after which they headed for Lebanon on Oct 10, 2012.
He said when in Lebanon, they were detained by the authority and charged in the country’s Military Court with four charges, two of which they were found guilty and sent to jail for four years from Oct 18, 2012.
Now that he was released, Muhamad Razin said he only remembered three of the charges, namely being a member of terrorist group Jabhah Al-Nusra, attempting to possess an unlicenced firearm, and trying to smuggle firearms.
Yazid was facing two counts of promoting acts of terrorism in Syria and being a member of Tanzim Al Qaeda Malaysia, while Muhammad Hilmi was charged with abetting him.
They were alleged to have committed the offence at a house in Taman Bukit Ampang, Lorong Mutiara 2, Lembah Jaya, Ampang near here, between Aug 1, 2012 and Feb 7, 2013.
The charge under Section 130KA of the Penal Code carries life imprisonment and fine if convicted.
The trial before Judge Datuk Mohd Azman Husin continues on Jan 20 next year. — Bernama
