Brazil Terrorism Laws: No One Is A Terrorist

Khaled Hussein Ali lives in Sao Paulo and allegedly works for al-Qaida. But this does not mean he is a terrorist.

In fact, no one in Brazil is considered a terrorist.

Even as the world has cracked down hard on terror, some countries have refrained from adopting anti-terror laws. Their stance has racked up consternation at a time when terrorism is a global concern, especially with Brazil now set to host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games.

"Officially, Brazil does not have terrorism inside its borders," wrote Lisa Kubiske, then the U.S. deputy chief of mission in Brasilia, in an August 2009 cable released by WikiLeaks. "In reality, several Islamic groups with known or suspected ties to extremist organizations have branches in Brazil and are suspected of carrying out financing activities."

Several countries in Latin America resist anti-terror laws because they still hold fresh memories of state dictatorships that killed or spirited away thousands of political opponents in the 1970s and '80s.

"These are places that had civil wars ... where the country ripped itself to pieces trying to fight terrorist organizations," said Princeton law professor Kim Lane Scheppele, who studies the global war on terror. "Once they got out of it and managed to put in place a democratic system, they said 'never again.'"

Read More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/03/brazil-terrorists_n_947784.html