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| Africa: North |
| GSPC-trained Moroccans arrested |
| 2005-08-16 |
| The thirteen men, seven whom were arrested last month in the city of Sale, less than a kilometer from Rabat, are suspected of having contacts with an Algerian Islamist group, a senior government source said on Tuesday, reported Reuters. The source, who required being anonymous, told Reuters they are suspected of plotting attacks in Morocco with the help of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), the main Islamist group still fighting Algerian authorities in a 13-year insurgency The other six were arrested in Algeria earlier, on suspicion of undergoing training with GSPC militants, and were handed over to the Moroccan authorities, the source said. The same source added that "An examining magistrate of Rabat's appeal court will start interrogating the 13 in September to confirm charges against them under the anti-terrorism law." Legal sources added that the suspects, whose ages range from 18 to 30, face charges of criminal conspiracy and attempts to undermine state security and to perpetrate terrorist attacks. If guilty, they will face up to 30 years in jail. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |