Ramzi Binalshibh

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Ramzi Binalshibh (Arabic: رمزي بن الشيبة; also transliterated as Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Ramzi bin al-Shaibah, and several other ways; born May 1, 1972 <ref>Indictment of Zacarias Moussaoui, with supporting conspirators, Ramzi Bin al-Shibh and Mustafa al-Hawsawi. Filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.</ref>), is a citizen of Yemen and according to the United States, Germany, and several other countries, a key al-Qaeda member who helped in planning the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Ramzi Binalshibh used the name Ramzi Omar while he was in Germany. He claimed that he was a political refugee from Sudan and requested political asylum in 1995. The judge refused his asylum request and Binalshibh returned to the Hadramaut region of Yemen. Binalshibh later received a German visa under his real name.

The Hamburg cell member was refused an entry visa to the United States four times prior to the attacks, where he allegedly wanted to join the 19 hijackers. His friend, Zakariyah Essabar, was also denied visas.

According to al-Jazeera reporter Yosri Fouda's documentary Top Secret: The Road to September 11, three weeks prior to the attacks, Saeed al-Ghamdi is believed to have used the name 'Abdul Rahman' to message Ramzi Binalshibh (who was posing as a girlfriend) online, where he messaged The first semester commences in three weeks. Two high schools and two universities. ... This summer will surely be hot ...19 certificates for private education and four exams. Regards to the professor. Goodbye. This was said to be a reference to two military targets and two civilian, 19 hijackers. <ref>http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/09/12/alqaeda.911.claim/index.html</ref>

Similarily, Binalshibh later said that Mohammed Atta had phoned him on the morning of August 29th.

He said, "A friend of mine gave me a puzzle and I want you to help me out." I said to him, "Is this the time for puzzles, Mohammed?" He said, "Yes, I know, but no one else but you could help me." He said, "Two sticks, a dash and cake with a stick down. What is it?" I said, "Did you wake me up just to tell me this?" As it turns out, two sticks is the number 11. A dash is a dash. And cake with a stick down is the number nine. And that was September 11. <ref>http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0209/14/smn.09.html</ref>

Binalshibh was captured in Pakistan on September 11, 2002, after a gunbattle in Karachi. He was subsequently turned over to the United States, which is holding him in an unknown location.

He is wanted by German courts where he shared a Hamburg apartment with Mohammed Atta, the suspected ringleader of the September 11 hijackers. However, Germany has deferred a request for extradition pending resolution of Binalshibh's legal status by the United States.

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