By Robert Nisbet, Europe Correspondent
Verdicts are expected later in the trial of 46 members of an extremist Islamist group accused of brainwashing young men in Belgium to fight in Syria.
Prosecutors claim the now-disbanded Sharia4Belgium network targeted impressionable men in Antwerp and Vilvoorde, north of Brussels, before starting a process of radicalisation and then delivering them to the conflict zone to fight the regime of President Bashar al Assad.
The alleged ringleader is 32-year-old Fouad Belkacem, a Moroccan-born car engineer, who is already serving a two-year sentence for inciting hatred against non-Muslims.
The avowed aim of his group of radicals was to establish Sharia law in Belgium, an intention he expressed in a series of YouTube videos.
In one, shown to the court, he said he wanted to destroy the Atomium tourist attraction in Brussels.
Public prosecutor Ann Fransen said he equated fighting so-called "holy war" with praying and fasting and told reporters: "Belkacem's words can only be interpreted as a call to violence and jihad."
Of the 46 accused, only eight have made an appearance in Antwerp's tightly-secured courtroom, as the remainder are believed to be still in Syria.
One of the young men Belkacem is alleged to have radicalised is 19-year-old Jejoen Bontinck, who is also on trial, charged with belonging to Sharia4Belgium, which carries a four-year jail term.
The teenager claims he travelled to Syria to help victims of the conflict, but his father, Dimitri, who brought him home, says he knew his son was being indoctrinated.
"Of course we asked for help, from youth organisations (and) the police," he told Sky News last year.
"But they answered: 'We live in a democracy, we have free speech, we have freedom of religion.' It was very sad, very painful."
It is estimated by the EU's INTCEN intelligence centre that more than 3,000 European citizens are fighting so-called jihad, and more than 10% of those come from Belgium, a higher percentage than any other country.
1/6
-
Gallery: Belgian Police Target Returning Jihadists
Forensic officers work in the rain on Rue de la Colline in Verviers, eastern Belgium
Belgian police shot dead two suspects in a huge operation against jihadists who had returned from Syria and planned an imminent attack
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
'Belgium Terror Recruiters' Await Their Fate
Dengan url
http://congormangap.blogspot.com/2015/02/belgium-terror-recruiters-await-their.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
'Belgium Terror Recruiters' Await Their Fate
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
'Belgium Terror Recruiters' Await Their Fate
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar