France has arrested 15 suspected of preparing to join Iraqi

Team Infidel

Forum Spin Doctor
France has arrested 15 suspected of preparing to join Iraqi insurgency - spy chief

PARIS - (AP) French authorities arrested about 15 people for
allegedly planning to travel to Iraq to join an insurgency against the
U.S.-led occupation, France counterterrorism chief Pierre de Bousquet said
in an interview released Wednesday.
Seven French people who voluntarily joined the uprising have been
killed in Iraq, including two suicide bombers, officials have said. An
estimated 10 remained in Iraq, including two in U.S. custody.
"To these, you have to add some 15 people detained in France for
having prepared their departure," Bousquet told the weekly magazine Valeurs
Actuelles, according to an advance copy of the interview.
He said authorities were "concerned by one person arrested several
months ago who, not wanting to die in Iraq, was apparently sent back to
Europe to carry out an attack," he said.
France's National Assembly, meanwhile, said lawmakers would examine
an amendment extending the detention period for terror suspects as part of
the government's broader anti-terrorism legislation, up for debate next
week.
The amendment proposes extending the detention period from four days
to up to six days when there is "a serious risk of an imminent terrorist
action in France or abroad," or when urgently required in the framework of
international cooperation.
It proposes several guarantees for suspects, including a medical
examination at the start of each 24-hour extension of the original four-day
detention period and an extra consultation with their lawyer.
The amendment, filed by two parliamentarians from the ruling
conservative party, was approved Wednesday by the laws commission of the
National Assembly, or lower house, increasing its chances of being passed in
the final reading.
The measure is mild in comparison with proposed British legislation.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair last week suffered the first major
defeat of his premiership when lawmakers rejected a measure in the
legislation that would have allowed suspects to be detained for 90 days
without charge.
They approved a maximum detention period of 28 days without charge,
but the bill was still being amended before a final vote.
The French lower house of parliament is due to start debating the
anti-terrorism legislation on Nov. 23, with a vote due Nov. 29.
Among its provisions were stiffening prison sentences for convicted
terrorists, allowing police to monitor citizens who travel to countries
known for terror training camps and broadening the use of surveillance
cameras.
 
Back
Top