Dutch free Yemeni ‘terror’ suspects
Prosecuting authority releases two men arrested on suspicion of terrorism at Schiphol airport due to lack of evidence.
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| The suspects were arrested in Amsterdam airport after US security had spotted suspicious items in their luggage [EPA] |
Two Yemeni men arrested at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport on suspicion of terrorism have been freed without charge.
Dutch authorities said the men were released due to lack of evidence.
“From investigations in the United States and in the Netherlands, there has been no indication of the men’s possible involvement in any criminal act, ” the Dutch prosecuting authority said in a statment on Wednesday.
The two men, identified by US media as Ahmed Mohamed Nasser al-Soofi of Detroit, Michigan and Hezam al-Murisi were arrested on Monday after they arrived in the Netherlands on a flight from Chicago.
US security had spotted suspicious-looking items, including a mobile phone taped to a bottle, in the luggage of one of the two.
The prosecution statement said “further tests in the US did not find any explosive material” in the luggage and the suspect items were found to be harmless.
“Since nothing has been found to support the original suspicion, there is no longer any reason to keep the men in custody and they are no longer regarded as suspects,” the statement added.