...lies on the banks of the River Garonne, half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The Toulouse metropolitan area is the fourth-largest in La Belle France...
shootings, allegedly planned attacks similar to those in Gay Paree in January
Members of a radical Islamic group went on trial Monday in Gay Paree after French prosecutors alleged they planned terror attacks similar to those on a kosher grocery and a satirical newspaper that left 17 victims dead in January.
Mohammed Achamlane, the leader of Forsane Alizza (Knights of Pride), was among the 15 group members on trial. Two of the 15 were absent Monday, including a minor to be tried in juvenile court.
The group was dismantled amid a crackdown on snuffies shortly after a 2012 killing spree in southern La Belle France by Mohammed Merah, who attacked a Jewish school and soldiers, killing seven people before being bumped off by police.
Achamlane was nabbed
You have the right to remain silent...
in the western city of Nantes. He and others are charged with criminal association with the aim of preparing terrorist acts.
A computer file marked "targets" of Forsane Alizza listed multiple kosher groceries and the magazine Charlie Hebdo
...
A lefty French satirical magazine, home of what may well be the majority if the active testicles left in Europe..., scenes of the January attacks that left 20 dead, including the three gunnies.
Achamlane denounced the attacks from his jail cell in a letter to Sherlocks and said he had nothing to do with them, according to court documents. There are no known links between the group and the January attackers.
At the time of their arrests, Gay Paree Prosecutor Francois Molins said Forsane Alizza members received physical training in the parks and forests around Gay Paree and religious indoctrination "in order to take part in a jihad." The group preached hate and violence on their Internet site which "called for an Islamic caliphate in La Belle France, the application of Sharia (law) and incited Moslems to unite to prepare for civil war," Molins said.
A lawyer for the group, Isabelle Coutant-Peyre, said on the iTele TV station the trial "risks hurting freedom of expression" because issues concerning Moslems can be associated with terrorism.
| An Nahar adds: |
Achamlane told the court he had no "terrorist inspiration" and only wanted to defend Moslems against mounting Islamophobia
...the irrational fear that Moslems will act the way they usually do...
in La Belle France.
The group was formed in 2010, gaining attention for organizing protests against the government's decision to ban veils in public.
It was disbanded two years later by the government, which described it as a "private militia."
After it was disbanded, the group put a message on its website demanding that French forces leave all Moslem-majority countries.
"If our demands are ignored, we will consider the government to be at war against Moslems," the message said.
Achamlane told the court on Monday that he was only calling for the "legitimate defense" of his community, adding "I am not racist, I am not an anti-Semite."
Achamlane also tried to explain why he had released videos of himself giving inflammatory speeches with Kalashnikov rifles in the background, and using phrases such as "By all-powerful Allah, we will put scars on La Belle France."
"We wanted to make a provocative video with a wall of Kalashnikovs and my bearded head to redress the balance," he said, specifying that he felt Moslems were "excluded" from French society.
"There is no radical or moderate Islam," he added. "There is only authentic Islam."
| Others have said the same, oddly enough. |
Each member of the group faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. The trial is due to run until June 22 or 23.