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| Europe |
| Two Terrorism Trials in Italy End in Acquitals |
| 2004-04-28 |
| An Italian court Wednesday acquitted nine Moroccans of plotting to attack the U.S. Embassy in Rome by poisoning its water supply. .... The nine were arrested in February 2002 on suspicions they were planning to spike the embassy’s water supply with a mildly poisonous chemical compound, which was found at the Rome apartment where four suspects lived. Maps indicating the U.S. Embassy were found outside the same apartment. .... At the time of the arrests, authorities found nearly 10 pounds of potassium ferrocyanide - a chemical used in photography - on the stairwell of the apartment. In a locked cabinet containing a gas meter outside the apartment, they found photocopies of utility company maps on which the U.S. Embassy was marked with a "X," and more than 100 blank application forms for residency permits. Inside the apartment, police found maps indicating building sites in Rome and 10 boxes of firecrackers. Following the arrests, authorities found two holes - the biggest measuring 12 by 20 inches - in an underground tunnel adjacent to the embassy, raising suspicion the suspects intended to carry out an attack. Defense lawyers insisted the holes resulted from ordinary wear and tear, and that even if the chemicals had been dissolved in the water supply, the quantity found by police would not have been sufficient to cause harm. In a separate case, the court also acquitted a Pakistani, a Tunisian and an Algerian arrested in 2002 and accused of forming a terrorist cell based around a Rome mosque. The two cases were not connected but were joined to shorten court time. The three also were accused of association aimed at international terrorism, based on telephone taps in which police alleged hearing the suspects talking about weapons, including bombs and Kalashnikov rifles. |
| Posted by:Mike Sylwester |
| #3 European anti-terrorist policy in action. |
| Posted by: someone 2004-04-29 12:04:43 AM |
| #2 "the quantity found by police would not have been sufficient to cause harm" Added to Frank's challenge this merely indicates they were stupid jihadis. Since when is that sufficient grounds for an acquittal in Italy? Most criminals are stupid. Most jihadis are well below that - they are willing cannon fodder, after all. Stinks. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-04-28 11:44:42 PM |
| #1 it's readily apparent to trained eyes whether the holes are due to moisture spalling rebar via rust or poor concrete or chiselling. This was either poor policework, political interference, or innocent "usual suspects". Damn..... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-04-28 11:38:04 PM |