Guadeloupe-born terror suspect's wife backs jihad

Friday, February 6, 2004

MELBOURNE, Australia: The Australian wife of jailed terror suspect Willie Brigitte emerged from a long-awaited prison meeting with her husband to declare her support for jihad, the Melbourne Herald Sun reports.

"One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter," said Melanie Brown, quoting a slogan adopted by many supporters of extreme militant groups -- including al-Qaida. 

"I may get into trouble saying that . . . but I have heard it a lot, and I agree with it. 

"For Muslims, the jihad is compulsory. It is the struggle . . . the struggle for God." 

The former Australian soldier also told how her marriage to Brigitte in Sydney was arranged by mutual friends in the fundamentalist Muslim community, because both were keen to wed as the faith decreed. 

Ms Brown said she confronted her husband in jail about aspects of his life he had never revealed to her, such as the two former wives and three children he left behind in France when he flew to Australia early last year. 

"We did discuss those things. But it's all cool now," she said. 

"As far as I understand, he is not married to them now." 

In her first interview since her life was abruptly and irrevocably changed by Brigitte's arrest in Sydney last October, Ms Brown proclaimed her husband's innocence. 

But in the next breath she revealed her strident support for "the jihad", adding that acts of violence could be seen as part of such a struggle. 

Ms Brown, 26, who had earlier punched photographers as she arrived at the Fleury-Merogis prison, was clearly more relaxed as she left. 

She revealed that the meeting, for which she had waited four months and endured three days in a French secret service prison cell, nearly didn't go ahead. 

She said Brigitte had decided not to see her after reading reports on the Internet inside the prison that quoted her saying she was planning to divorce him. He agreed to meet her at the last minute after she sent a message reassuring him the reports were wrong. 

Brigitte has been imprisoned since October, when he was arrested and deported from Australia on suspicion of organising an al-Qaida-linked terror cell in Sydney. 

The Guadeloupe-born militant has already confessed to attending al-Qaida-linked terror camps in Pakistan. 

France's long queue of terrorists awaiting trial means his case is unlikely to be heard for at least two years.  

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