Prosecution in Malaysia charged an al-Qaeda-linked former army captain and a woman with inciting terrorist acts in Syria.

“Yazid Sufaat encouraged terrorist activities,” said a ruling at the Magistrate Court in Malaysia, quoted by the Associated Press.

Sufaat was reported to have been doing so at a house in a suburb outside Kuala Lumpur sometime between early August and late October, while Halimah Hussein was charged for abetting him.

Police arrested Sufaat, Hussein and another man Thursday, saying they were the masterminds of an effort to recruit militants.

Prosecution documents offered scant details except that their actions could have threatened public safety in Syria.

Yazid Sufaat, and Halimah Hussein face up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

The Malaysian national news agency, Bernama, late Thursday quoted unidentified sources as saying that the suspects tried to recruit young people to be trained for missions that included suicide bombings.

Sufaat was detained in 2001 upon return from Afghanistan where he was suspected of working on a biological and chemical weapons program for al-Qaeda.

Associated press

B.N