The Jerusalem Post reports:
A French court sentenced the leader of a banned Islamic group to nine
years in jail on Friday (July 10) after a trial on terrorism charges.
The
ruling comes six months after Islamist militants killed 17 people in
attacks on the Charlie Hebdo newspaper and a Jewish shop, prompting
France to boost troops guarding sensitive spots such as synagogues and
train stations.
The Paris court delivered the jail sentence to
Mohamed Achemlane, one of 14 people tried on charges of "criminal
conspiracy related to a terrorist enterprise", in a trial unrelated to
the deadly Jan. 7-9 attacks.
The trial followed raids by police
on the homes of members of a group called Forsane Alizza (Horsemen of
Pride in Arabic), which was banned in 2012. Police found weapons in the
raids as well as a file belonging to Achemlane that included a list of
"targets" including the Hyper Cacher chain of Jewish stores.
The
group was created in 2010 with the official goal of stopping the spread
of Islamophobia but it was banned by the government in March 2012 after
jihadist propaganda appeared on its website.
Achamlane, 37, who
has previous convictions for offences related to weapons and violence,
denied any plans to carry out attacks and said the group's aim was
simply to "unite young Muslims". More.
No comments :
Post a Comment