Rayed Mohammed Abdullah Ali, a Yemeni National linked to Hani Hanjour, the September 11 hijacker who flew American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon building, spent four months in New Zealand before being deported as a national security risk.
He was admitted in February on a student visa, saying his dream was to become a commercial airline pilot.
New Zealand Deports Alleged 9/11 SuspectA Yemeni who U.S. officials said once lived and trained with a terrorist pilot in the Sept. 11 attacks was deported from New Zealand, the government said Saturday.
Rayed Mohammed Abdullah Ali was detained May 29 in the city of Palmerston North, where he was attending flight school, Immigration Minister David Cunliffe said in a statement.
He said Rayed Abdullah was deported to Saudi Arabia the following day because his presence he posed a security threat, but he declined to give details.
"What I will say is that we don't have any evidence of a specific terrorist threat by the gentleman," Cunliffe told National Radio.
The U.S. congressional investigation into the U.S. terror attacks said Rayed Abdullah had lived and trained with Saudi Arabian Hani Hanjour, who piloted the airliner that crashed into the Pentagon on Sept. 11.
"He was directly associated with persons responsible for the terrorist attacks in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001," Cunliffe said.
"He was building up his flying hours, flying with an instructor. He'd previously trained as a pilot in the United States," Cunliffe said.
He was enrolled in an English language course trying to obtain an English language qualification to assist his gaining a commercial pilot license.
Although the 2004 report claims the FBI remains suspicious of Rayed Abdullah's relationship with Hanjour, there is no direct evidence of any planned terror attack.
MM has this:
9/11-LINKED PILOT ON THE LOOSE
