Malaysian bio-chemist Yazid Sufaat was released from prison on Wednesday. He was imprisoned in 2017 for recruiting terrorists for ISIS and al-Qaeda. Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay, head of Malaysian police's Special Branch counterterrorism division said that the Sufaat was released from the Simpang Renggam prison and sent to his home in Kuala Lumpur.
Terrorism ventures
Having received a degree in biochemistry from California State University, he has worked for a number of terrorist organizations, most prominent among them being the al-Qaeda, RT reported. In 1993, he set up a lab and came close to create a Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD) using a lethal strain of anthrax, for al-Qaeda. He was arrested for the same in 2002.
In 2000, he tried to bomb Singapore using four tons of ammonium nitrate. Yazid is reported to have got military training in Afghanistan and has also met al-Qaeda's leader Osama Bin Laden. He is said to have attended meetings in which 9/11 attack was planned. When the attack occurred the 55-year-old was in Afghanistan but fled to Malaysia via Pakistan, where he was apprehended.
Though released in 2008, he was imprisoned again in 2013, on terrorism charges. In 2017, he was imprisoned for two years term on charges of recruiting fighters for al-Qaeda and ISIS. In total, he has served a discontinuous prison term of 12 years, for multiple reasons.
To be monitored closely
Despite his release, the authorities have informed that Sufaat will be monitored closely. As per the decision of Prevention of Terrorism Board, Sufaat will have to wear an electronic monitoring device all the time. He is also not allowed to leave Ampang district in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, where his home is situated and must be inside his home from 8 pm to 6 am every day. He will also have to report to the local police station, twice a week.
