Nuke plot militant arrested
Source: Agencies |
April 1, 2012, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A FRENCH Muslim convert convicted in 2007 for planning an attack on an Australian nuclear plant is one of the suspected militants being held for questioning after a series of raids throughout France, a police source said yesterday.
Willy Brigitte was arrested on Friday at his home in Asnieres, a northwestern suburb of Paris. Authorities found no weapons but seized his computer and a mobile phone.
The crackdown followed a pledge by President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is three weeks away from the first round of presidential elections, to rid France of radical Islamists.
His public approval rating has edged up slightly due to what most French believe to be his able handling of this month's killing spree by an al Qaeda-inspired gunman in Toulouse.
The latest raids by police commandos were not linked directly to the rampage in southwestern France, a police source has said, but they have still sent a strong message as security shot up to the top of agenda ahead of the vote.
Authorities yesterday extended their detention of 17 suspects, including Brigitte, held for questioning, a judicial source said. A normal detention period of 24 hours can be extended up to 96 hours in terrorism investigations.
The head of the DCRI domestic intelligence agency, Bernard Squarcini, told La Provence daily in an interview published yesterday the suspected militants were planning a kidnapping.
Brigitte was convicted by a French court in March 2007 for plotting an attack against the Lucas Heights nuclear research facility outside Sydney. He was sentenced to nine years in jail.
Willy Brigitte was arrested on Friday at his home in Asnieres, a northwestern suburb of Paris. Authorities found no weapons but seized his computer and a mobile phone.
The crackdown followed a pledge by President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is three weeks away from the first round of presidential elections, to rid France of radical Islamists.
His public approval rating has edged up slightly due to what most French believe to be his able handling of this month's killing spree by an al Qaeda-inspired gunman in Toulouse.
The latest raids by police commandos were not linked directly to the rampage in southwestern France, a police source has said, but they have still sent a strong message as security shot up to the top of agenda ahead of the vote.
Authorities yesterday extended their detention of 17 suspects, including Brigitte, held for questioning, a judicial source said. A normal detention period of 24 hours can be extended up to 96 hours in terrorism investigations.
The head of the DCRI domestic intelligence agency, Bernard Squarcini, told La Provence daily in an interview published yesterday the suspected militants were planning a kidnapping.
Brigitte was convicted by a French court in March 2007 for plotting an attack against the Lucas Heights nuclear research facility outside Sydney. He was sentenced to nine years in jail.
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