French police have arrested eight Muslims as part of an investigation into "planned" anti-Russian attacks in France
Published:
12 January 2004 y., Monday
Anti-terrorist officers from the DST domestic security service swooped on the suspects in dawn raids in the Venissieux suburb of Lyon on Tuesday.
Chellali Benchellali, the imam of Venissieux mosque, was detained along with his wife Hafsa and one of their sons, Hafed, as well as up to five others.
"(The arrests) will act as a brake on all these networks and this radical and political Islam which is doing so much harm in our suburbs," Venissieux mayor Andre Gerin, a communist, said. Another of the imam's sons, Mourad Benchellali, was previously arrested by US forces in Afghanistan and is being held at the US military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Around 10 people, mostly of Algerian origin, are already in detention as part of the Chechnya-related investigation launched by French magistrates in December 2002. Among the 10 is another of Chellali Benchellali's sons, Menad.
Šaltinis:
english.aljazeera.net
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
A famous New York church is feeling Wall Street's pain.
more »
Japan may be in recession, but Tokyo remains the world's best dining city.
more »
The Netherlands may be famous for its liberal drugs laws but in the Dutch town of Bergen Op Zoom they've had enough.
more »
A European Commission report published today shows that mobile workers from the countries that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007 have had a positive impact on Member States' economies and have not led to serious disturbances on their labour markets.
more »
South Korean stores must by law charge shoppers for plastic bags. Any infrigement would be reported to the authorities.
more »
Shi Sanba is one of China's most celebrated plastic surgeon's and also dubbed the country's "Michael Jackson".
more »
The job of elected Members of any Parliament is to make laws that all of us are obliged to obey.
more »
In Spain thousands have been queuing for days in the hope of gaining that crucial first step onto the property ladder.
more »
Scores of sheep have been shepherded through Paris as part of a demonstration to improve the lives of European farmers.
more »
Animal rights groups say animals are suffering from abuse and sometimes live in dire conditions.
more »