Atris Hussein, a Swedish national of Lebanese descent pleaded on Wednesday not
guilty to charges of being related to Hezbollah and planning an explosion in
Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.
Hussein was arrested in January 2012 at Bangkok's main airport as he tried to
leave the country.
Upon inspecting his home, the Thai police found a large amount of chemical
material which can be used to create a bomb.
On Tuesday, the United
States imposed sanctions on four Lebanese citizens, accusing them of
fundraising and recruiting on behalf of Hezbollah in West
Africa.
The U.S. Treasury Department said the four men
were sanctioned for effectively acting as "ambassadors" for
Hezbollah, which Washington considers a terrorist group.
The move is part of a multi-year probe that has
exposed what the U.S. government says are tight links between South American
drug traffickers and Middle Eastern groups such as Hezbollah.