According to the interior minister, the French authorities extradited Thursday an Algerian Imam charged of being involved in 2002 Paris bombings, helping recruiting fighters for the Chechens and targeting Russian services. The same administration suspects the Algerian Imam of having a link with the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat activating in Algeria. The French interior minister announced last Thursday that it had extradited Algerian Imam Chellali Ben Chellali. The Imam worked in a mosque in the east suburb of Lyon. He was accused of being involved in the 2002 Paris bombings, targeting Russian services in France and having a link with Chechen fighters. The same source said that Chellali Ben Chellali boarded a flight to Algiers from Orly airport. | “He was accused of being involved in the 2002 Paris bombings, targeting Russian services in France and having a link with Chechen fighters...” |
It is indicated that some European states have already extradited some Imams. In France for instance, Interior minister Nicola Sarkosy announced his commitment to deprive scores of Imams he dubbed as fundamentalists of their French citizenship and extradited them to their country of origin.