PARIS: Ten people with links to the radical far-right have been arrested by anti-terrorist police in France over an alleged plot to attack Muslims, judicial sources said Sunday.
The arrests were made late Saturday in operations across France, including the Mediterranean island of Corsica, the sources told AFP.
The suspects had an “ill-defined plan to commit a violent act targeting people of the Muslim faith,” one source close to the probe said.
Another source said the gang was looking to hit “targets linked to terrorists.”
France has been hit by a string of militants attacks since early 2015, often by people who have become radicalized or claim to have acted in the name of the Daesh group.
More than 240 people have been killed in the attacks, including 130 who lost their lives in a wave of bombings and shootings mainly in Paris nightspots in November 2015.
The suspects were being monitored by France’s DGSI intelligence agency, intercepted messages showing they were seeking to buy arms, and searches turned up some weapons, the sources said.
France is home to an estimated 5.7 million Muslims or almost nine percent of the population, according to a report by US-based think-tank the Pew Research Center at the end of last year.
France arrests 10 ultra-right suspects over plot to attack Muslims
France arrests 10 ultra-right suspects over plot to attack Muslims
- France is home to an estimated 5.7 million Muslims or almost nine percent of the population
- Sources said the gang was looking to hit “targets linked to terrorists
Italy protests, recalls ambassador to Switzerland after New Year’s bar fire suspect released
- Meloni overnight called Moretti’s release “an affront to the memory of the victims”
- Six of those killed in the bar blaze were Italian as were 10 of the injured
ROME: Italy formally protested on Saturday the release on bail of the owner of a Swiss bar engulfed in a deadly New Year’s Day fire and recalled its ambassador to Switzerland, as the court’s decision came under criticism in both countries.
Jacques Moretti and his wife Jessica, owners of Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, are under investigation for negligent homicide and other crimes linked to the blaze that killed 40 people and injured more than 100, many of them teenagers.
Jacques Moretti was detained on January 9 but released on bail on Friday.
PM MELONI CALLS DECISION ‘AN INSULT’ TO VICTIMS’ FAMILIES
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni overnight called Moretti’s release “an affront to the memory of the victims ... and an insult to their families.”
Six of those killed in the bar blaze were Italian as were 10 of the injured.
A government statement on Saturday said Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani instructed Italy’s ambassador to immediately contact Beatrice Pilloud, the chief prosecutor in Switzerland’s Valais canton, to convey Italy’s “strong indignation” over Moretti’s release.
It added that the court had taken the decision despite the seriousness of the alleged crime, the risk of flight and the possibility of evidence being compromised.
“The whole of Italy is clamouring for truth and justice, and is calling for respectful measures to be taken in the wake of this disaster, which take full account of the suffering and expectations of the families,” the statement said.
Meloni and Tajani also ordered Ambassador Gian Lorenzo Cornado to return to Rome to determine what further action to take, it said.
Swiss prosecutor Pilloud confirmed to Swiss news agency Keystone SDA that she had been contacted by the Italian ambassador but explained that a separate court had ordered Moretti’s release.
“I do not wish to be responsible for a diplomatic incident between our two countries. I will not give in to any possible pressure from the Italian authorities, which is why I advised the ambassador to address himself to the Swiss political authorities,” she said.
A Swiss Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.
’ANOTHER SLAP’, TEEN VICTIM’S FATHER SAYS OF RELEASE
Moretti was released under a bail arrangement that included a 200,000 Swiss franc ($256,377) payment and an order to report daily to a police station.
Lawyers for the victims of the fire and their families said they were struggling to understand the court order, adding that their clients were concerned about evidence disappearing.
“It is another slap on a wound that will never heal,” Andrea Costanzo, whose 16-year-old daughter Chiara died in the fire, said in comments published in Italian newspapers on Saturday.
The Morettis have both expressed grief over the tragedy and said they would cooperate with prosecutors.
In a statement following Jacques Moretti’s release, their lawyers said they would “continue to comply with all requests from the authorities.”
