Al-Jazeera reporter held

A journalist working for the Qatar-based television network Al-Jazeera was arrested in Spain yesterday for suspected links with alleged al-Qaida members held in Spain this year, the Interior Ministry said.

Tayssir Alouni, a Syrian with a Spanish passport, was held on the order of investigating judge Baltasar Garzon. The tentative charge is membership in a terrorist organisation, the news agency Efe reported.

"My husband is not a member of al-Qa'ida," Mr Alouni's wife, Fatima, told the radio station SER. Mr Alouni interviewed Osama bin Laden after the terrorist attacks in America. Most of the 16 suspects held this year have been freed. (AP)