Glasgow terror suspect "is no extremist": Jordanian family (Extra)

Jul 2, 2007, 15:23 GMT

Amman - A Jordanian arrested as a suspect in the weekend's string of terror attacks in Glasgow and London is a 'brilliant' doctor and has never been recruited in extremist organisations, family members and university professors insisted in Jordan Monday.

They said Mohammad Jamil Abdul Qader al-Asha, a 26-year post- graduate of Palestinian origin, planned to visit Jordan on July 12.

'He called me three days ago to check the body sizes of his six brothers and two sisters,' said his father, Jamil. 'My son wanted to buy them gifts from Britain before his departure.'

Mohammad, studying neurology at Birmingham University, had no 'criminal or security record' in Jordan, official sources said.

The shocked Asha family heard about his arrest - on a motorway in the north-western English county of Cheshire - from media reports. They had failed to contact him or locate his whereabouts.

'His mobile is closed and his home telephone is switched to the answering machine,' his father said, adding that he had appealed to King Abdullah II to use his leverage for the release of Mohammad.

His son, he added, was 'bearded' but not a member of any extremist organization.

University of Jordan Vice-Dean Azmi Mahafthah described al-Asha, who was at the university between 1998 and 2003, as a top scholar in high school and college.

This had earned him a scholarship at Birmingham University. 'He graduated with distinction -a 3.87/4 degree - a very rare and high score that comes once every ten years,' Abdullah Musa was quoted as saying by Jordanian media.