MSIAN STUDENTS HELD IN YEMEN RETURNED ON JUNE 2

PUTRAJAYA, June 9 (Bernama) -- The two Malaysian students held in Yemen on
suspicion of being involved in the al-Qaeda network were released on May 30 and
returned to Malaysia on June 2, Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said Wednesday.

He said an investigation conducted by the Malaysian embassy in Yemen found
that they were not involved with al-Qaeda or any terrorist organisation as
presumed.

"They were just students ignorant of the requirements," he said of Raziff
Mohd Arif, 18, and Azizul Alfian, 22, who were held when they visited a village
outside the capital, Sanaa, without a permit.

"However, we respect the laws of Yemen," he told reporters after members of
the University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) student representatives council called on
him at the Foreign Ministry, here.

The two students were held along with 58 other individuals on suspicion of
having been involved in the al-Qaeda network and having links with Umar Farouk
Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian national who attempted to blow up a plane in the
United States last Christmas.

The two students had been pursuing Arabic studies at a university in Sanaa.

Anifah instructed the Malaysian embassies in Yemen, Egypt and Jordan to
brief Malaysian students in those countries on the relevant local laws.
-- BERNAMA