TRIAL OF ALLEGED SWEDISH TERRORIST BEGINS IN NEW YORK

UNCLAS STOCKHOLM 000245 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KMDR PINS PGOV SW SUBJECT: TRIAL OF ALLEGED SWEDISH TERRORIST BEGINS IN NEW YORK ¶1. On April 13, the trial began in New York of Swedish-Lebanese dual citizen Oussama Kassir. Kassir is accused of running a terrorist training camp in Oregon and hosting a web site with public access to the "The Mujahedeen Explosives Handbook." Kassir denies all charges and claims the evidence was fabricated by the Swedish Security Police and the FBI. ¶2. Swedish media has expressed concern that the New York court system might not provide the Swedish citizen with an impartial jury: several potential jurors reportedly told court officials that they would find it difficult to be impartial in an alleged terrorism case. Background -------------- ¶3. Kassir was tried on terrorist charges in Sweden in 2003, but the court found insufficient evidence for a conviction. In 2005, he was detained in Prague en route to Lebanon and eventually extradited to the U.S. in 2007.