| Submit your comments on this article |
| Europe |
| Cleric Denies Links to Casablanca Blasts |
| 2003-10-24 |
| A Moroccan cleric accused of links to an extremist group implicated in May suicide bombings in Casablanca denied the charges Thursday and told a court he did not want to be extradited to Morocco, his lawyer said. "Morocco! Are youse nuts! Youse gots ta get me outta here! What kind of mouthpiece are youse anyways?" Mohamed Rafik was one of three people arrested Saturday in northern Italy. He was accused of being tied to the extremist movement Salafiya Jihadia, which Moroccan officials have linked to the May 16 bombings that killed 45, including 12 attackers. The three men also are accused of having collected money for terrorists in Morocco. Defense attorney Fausta Viola said Thursday’s preliminary hearing at an appeals court in Brescia was the first step in a lengthy process, and she was waiting for clarification of the charges against Rafik from Morocco and the Italian court. ``The accusations made at the moment are very vague, there are no documents from Morocco, it is more a rough sketch of an accusation,’’ she said. "A watercolor of a warrant! A doodle of a demarche! A crayola of a claim!" Judicial sources in Rabat confirmed earlier this week that Morocco was requesting the extradition of suspects Rafik, Mohamed Raouiane and Daoud Ouaaziz. Because of European Union rules, Italy may not be able to extradite the men if they risk receiving the death penalty. "No, no! Certainly not!" ``With the climate that there is in Morocco, it would not be sensible for him to return, and he does not want to return to the country to face charges for something he has not done,’’ Viola said. "Lies! All lies!" |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #2 And jug time in Morocco actually means jug time, not sleeping guards and cell doors that lift off the hinges... |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2003-10-24 11:06:40 AM |
| #1 morocco making big play for world cup hosting so has to string up as many jihadis as possible--- soccer over jihad-- -- works for me!! |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-10-24 1:49:17 AM |