UK academic to fight terror claim

An academic accused by the US of playing a leading role in an Islamic terror group says he will “fight to the bitter end” to clear his name. Basheer Musa Mohammed Nafi, 50, was one of eight men indicted by US Attorney General John Ashcroft this week. He is accused of being the British head of Islamic Jihad – designated a terrorist organisation in the US.

BBC News, 22 February 2003

The BBC visited Kingston Blount, the village in rural Oxfordshire where Dr Nafi has his home: “Little seemed to be happening in Kingston Blount itself, save for the quiz night coming up in the village hall. There weren’t any notices about the next meeting of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.”

BBC Oxford Features, 21 February 2003