BANGKOK, Thailand – A Swedish citizen on trial for violating Thailand's weapons laws denied Tuesday (July 2nd) that he is linked in any way to the Hezbollah terror movement, AFP reported.

Atris Hussein, who is originally from Lebanon but was granted asylum and citizenship in Sweden, was arrested at a Bangkok airport in January 2012 and is charged with packing tonnes of explosive chemicals, including ammonium nitrate, into bags at a property he rented.

Thai police said they were told by Israeli authorities that Atris may have had connections to the Lebanese extremist group Hezbollah.

"I know Hezbollah in general," Atris told the court Tuesday. "But I don't have any relation – either directly or indirectly – with the group."