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November 28, 2005
Italy: Outrage As Islamist With al-Qaeda Links Is Acquitted
Today, an appeals court judge in Milan upheld the January acquittals of three men before him of terrorist charges for which they had previously been convicted, states the Scotsman.
Moroccan Mohamed Daki, pictured, had been earlier convicted of international terrorism charges, along with Tunisians Ali Ben Sassi Toumi and Bouyahia Maher, but in January 2005 an international outcry was created when they were acquitted of these charges.
Judge Clementina Forleo had declared that their actions were those of guerillas, and not terrorists. Corriere.it explained the judge's reasoning at that time:
Recruiting mujahidin for the war in Iraq is not against the law. The serious charge of international terrorism can only be brought if it there is proof of the organisation of attacks "aiming to spread indiscriminate terror in the civilian population in the name of a political and/or religious creed", in other words "crimes against humanity".Ali Ben Sassi Toumi had walked out of the court, albeit in handcuffs, saying "Thanks be to Italian justice and thanks be to God. Allah is great."
Forleo's ruling had effectively quashed a new law (270b) introduced after 9/11 to prosecute groups which organised attacks from Italy in foreign territories. The verdict made a distinction between guerilla warfare and terrorism. At this January hearing, prosecutors announced their intention to appeal.
Today's court hearing was the appeal against the judge's ruling. At the time of the January 2005 appeal, Mohammed Daki had been sentenced to one year and ten months for procuring a forged document for a leader of the recruits going to Iraq. Today, Judge Forleo acquitted him of the charges relating to false documents, effectively setting him free.
Daki said after the verdict: "I'm happy, I'll stay in Italy and I want to continue studying and to find work. I never had any doubts on the sentence because I'm innocent."
Daki had completed his sentence by the end of June this year, and the interior minister had tried to have him expelled as "a serious threat to public order and a danger for the state security," stated Arabic News. But prosecution lawyers in Milan argued that those standing trial in international terrorism cases (i.e. waiting for the appeal which ended today), should remain in Italy and not go abroad. The judge then agreed.
The two Tunisians, Bouyahia Maher and Ali Toumi had been sentenced to three years' imprisonment for receiving forged passports and abetting illegal immigration. They too were acquitted of terrorism charges today, but they were sentenced to three years' prison for criminal association.
Following today's ruling, the Italian Foreign Minister, Gianfranco Fini spoke of his "anger and incredulity" for this "distortion of reality before the entire world."
Fini is right. The fact that all three recruited people to act as terrorists abroad should be enough to judge them, despite Judge Forleo's interpretation of the law. Let us dispense with Toumi and Maher and look at what is known about Daki.
Daki had shared an address in Hamburg, Germany with Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, part of the Hamburg Cell known to have helped plot and provide logistical support in the 9/11 US attacks. In German police interviews made after 9/11, Daki admitted his association with al-Sibh, but no watches were made upon him then, states Cooperative Research.
Middle East Info states that Daki arrived in Germany originally on a student's visa to study engineering, which he never took up. He met the al-Qaeda "Hamburg Cell" members at Al Quds Mosque in Hamburg. Apparently Daki's religious faith was such that he had visions and spoke in tongues. After his questioning, three weeks after the 9/11 attacks, police and other agencies lost track of him. He moved from Hamburg to Milan in the spring of 2002.
According to Time, "Investigators say Daki also had encounters with Mohamed Atta, the Egyptian who led the Sept. 11 attacks."
And now he is claiming that he is happy, he is going to stay in Italy. But worse still, if he is going to stay in Italy, he is free. Mr Fini should be encouraging his deportation.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at November 28, 2005 7:28 PM
Comments
Just a brief note to congratulate you on a superb site.
This is our way of fighting the war against jihad.
It never ceases to amaze me how some left wing jurists continue to parse `rights' for terrorists trying to take away the ultimate right from the rest of us-the right to live in peace.
Drop by Josuapundit if you get the chance.
Posted by: Freedom Fighter at November 28, 2005 8:33 PM
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