Money Transfers Were Made To Chakib Khelil’s Wife As “Zakat” In Compliance With Islamic Law!

Ernesto Gregory Valenti, the lawyer of defendant Omar Habour in the Sonatrach-Enie-Saipem case revealed to the Milan Court, the transfer of large sums of money from his client’s bank account to the account of the wife of former Algerian energy minister Chakib Khelil between 2004 and 2006 as a “Zakat” in compliance with Islamic law, in addition to previous financial aid granted to late Yasser Arafat’s wife in her activities in support for the Palestinian cause.
Ernesto Gregory Valenti, the lawyer of Omar Habor in the Sonatrach-Enie-Saipem case, said that his client had already converted $ 238,000 dollars from his account into an account for the spouse of late Arafat, as well as for the wife of former energy minister Chakib Khelil between the years 2004 and 2006 into her own bank account in the Kingdom of Jordan.
The same lawyer explained in an audio recording on Monday of which “Echorouk” has a copy that his client was always making money transfers for the benefit of late Arafat’s wife, not only in the recent past but also during the years of the 1980s and 1990s.
The same lawyer pointed out that the transfer of money from his client to the bank account of Chakib Khelil’s wife was always motivated by what he dubbed as “Zakat” in compliance with Islamic law.
The lawyer read out the definition of Zakat and explained it to the Milan Court as being one of the most important pillars of the religion of Islam.
“As a lawyer for defendant Omar Habour, I asked for confirmation and explanation of the transfer of funds to late Arafat’s spouse and confirmed that such a money transfer was tantamount to “Zakat” in consistence with Islamic law,” he argued.
Habour’s lawyer explained that his client’s dealings with the wife of late Arafat, and that of Chakib Khelil, have been going on for many years, especially with regard to the Palestinian cause, which is supported by Najat Arafat.
The latter is a member of various groups’ activities designed to defend the Palestinian people in America and the Middle East.
She is also a member of the Federation of Palestinian-American Women and other organizations backing up the Palestinian cause, according to the same lawyer.
The lawyer of Omar Habour further excoriated in his defense plea the Algerian press, accusing it of “having waged a fierce campaign against his client, who was brought to trial on the basis of scraps of newspaper articles and nothing more”, as he put it.