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Omer Ozdemir and Sermet Ilgen
 Omer Ozdemir was born in 1978 in Turkey but grew up in Germany. He is a Turkish citizen. Omer Ozdemir grew up in Sindelfingen, just southwest of Stuttgart, and had known Sermet Ilgen, a neighbor also from Turkish descent, since childhood. Sermet Ilgen was born in Turkey but became a German citizen in 2006.
Both are alleged to have worked closely with Aleem Nasir, who recruited them to Al Qaeda sometime in 2004. In early 2007 Omer Ozdemir helped Aleem Nasir and Rene Marc Sepac to recruit Bekkay Harrach to Al Qaeda at the Bonn Muhadshirin Mosque.
In 05/2007 Omer Ozdemir traveled to Pakistan, with a recommendation letter from Aleem Nasir, and went through military training in Shaktoi, near Damadola, in the Abu Zubair compound in Mir Ali, Nort West Pakistan. In Shaktoi Omer Ozdemir met later with Bakky Harrach.
Omer Ozdemir returned to Germany in late 2007. He was arrested, eventually, on 09/12/2008. Omer Ozdemir and codefendant Sermet Ilgen, arrested on 02/06/2009, were charged, in Koblenz, Germany, on 09/14/2009, with violating export laws and belonging to Al Qaeda after allegedly procuring equipment and funds for the terrorist group. The charges refered to the voyage of Aleem Nasir to Pakistan in 01/2007, in which he brought with him to Pakistan rifle sights, a laptop, binoculars, several night vision devices, a device to detect bugs and a directional microphone to intercept conversations at a distance. Part of the equipment was supplied to Aleem Nasir by Sermet Ilgen.
Omer Ozdemir told the court that he has been unemployed since 02/2008 after selling cars and mobile phones. Sermet Ilgen said he was working at a Mercedes factory in Malaysia before his arrest on 02/06/2009, at Stuttgart airport.
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04/10/2009 09:20:27
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