One of the halls in the Magistrate's Court yesterday afternoon was linked to a court in Texas and evidence was given by Maltese nationals in a case in the United States.

A US state district attorney, representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and US Customs were present in the hall presided over by Magistrate Jacqueline Padovani Grima, where evidence was heard behind closed doors.

Senior Counsel to the Republic Donatella Frendo Dimech and Police Inspector Ian Abdilla conducted the prosecution while Dr Chris Soler assisted the Maltese who gave evidence yesterday.

The necessary equipment for video conferencing was set up and could be seen there in the morning. Because everything had been set up for the court's afternoon session, the court was unable in the morning to screen a video taken by security cameras in the Ta' Qali murder compilation proceedings.

This was the first time in Malta that evidence was given using such facilities in cases being heard abroad. Such procedures were made possible following amendments spearheaded by Deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg. The amendments allow and regulate the use of modern technology in giving evidence in investigations being carried out abroad.

No one wanted to comment officially as to what the case was about but sources later said the proceedings had to do with a case against Texas-based firm InfoCom Corp.

In December 2002, Reuters had reported that a Maltese shipping company had been implicated in a case against a leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas and a Texas computer company charged with breaking US laws that ban dealing in terrorist funds.

The Maltese shipping company was not named.

All Reuters said in connection with Malta was that the Texas-based company InfoCom Corp. and four brothers were alleged to have tried to conceal that shipments of computers and computer parts had been destined for Libya by routing them through a shipping company in Malta.

According to the report, InfoCom had received seed money from Mousa Abu Marzook, a Hamas political leader who was deported from the US in 1997 and is believed to be in the Middle East.

Marzook is designated by the United States as a terrorist. He had dismissed the accusations as part of a "campaign against Muslims".

A 33-count indictment against Marzook was returned by a federal grand jury in Dallas.

The vice-president of InfoCom Corp. and four of his brothers, all employees of the private firm based in Richardson, Texas, were also charged. The company was indicted.

The charges included export violations, making false statements, dealing in the property of a designated terrorist, conspiracy and money laundering.

The company's vice-president, Ghassan Elashi, is also chairman of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, the largest Muslim charity in the US. The US government shut the foundation down in 2001 after designating it a terrorist group.

The FBI's joint terrorism task force searched InfoCom's offices on September 7, 2001, four days before the hijacked plane attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon.

InfoCom was in the same office park and shared some employees with Holy Land. It is claimed that both InfoCom and Holy Land received their seed money from Marzook.

The five brothers, one of whom is already in custody, were also charged with selling computers and computer parts to Libya and Syria, countries designated by the US government as state sponsors of terrorism.

Marzook is alleged to have conspired with InfoCom to hide his financial transactions with the company.

In 1995, the US government designated Marzook as a "terrorist" whose actions threatened the Middle East peace process - a designation that made it illegal for any US person or entity to conduct transactions with him.

The charges alleged that InfoCom continued to engage in financial transactions with Marzook despite the designation.

InfoCom and the brothers are also accused of falsely declaring that the computer shipments to Syria did not require a licence.

The officials said the charges capped an investigation into InfoCom, but the government's probe of the Holy Land Foundation remained open.

In December 2001, the US government designated Holy Land a terrorist group, based on its long-standing association with Hamas, which has claimed responsibility for attacks that killed hundreds in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.

Marzook was arrested in 1995 at a New York airport as he flew into the United States, where he had lived for at least 15 years. He was deported to Jordan in 1997.