Algerian national Mustapha Labsi, who is suspected of collaborating with the terrorist network al-Qaeda, will remain in custody in Slovakia at the Bratislava Regional Court building for the time being, said his lawyer on June 11.
Algeria is said to have requested Labsi's extradition on June 9. One of the initial steps in this process must be taken by prosecutors, with an application to the Bratislava Regional Court. The extradition is still handled by diplomatic channels under the treaty on legal assistance in criminal matters originally signed by the former Czechoslovakia and Algeria.
Labsi, who came to Slovakia to see his wife and child, has applied for asylum in many European countries, including France, Austria, Great Britain and Slovakia.
Labsi is suspected of helping to organize several terrorist attacks or attempted attacks, and is suspected of having helped train the 19 terrorists who carried out the attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, 2001.
It is also alleged that Labsi attempted to smuggle explosives into the US and planned an attack on the Los Angeles airport. The French police suspect him of planning an attack on a police station in Lille.
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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