..
‘Prison imam’ praised bin Laden & preached destruction of ‘satanic’ Vatican in Italy – police
13 May, 2021 14:39
Illustration: © Rodnae Productions / Pexels
An inmate who acted as a prison imam in Italy has been charged with spreading terrorist propaganda after he allegedly praised the 9/11 plane hijackers and called for an attack on the Vatican.
A Moroccan man named El Allam Bouchta was preaching terrorism while leading Friday prayers in the San Michele prison in Alessandria, northwestern Italy, according to local authorities. He was an inmate at the facility between July 2020 and March 2021, police said, but is currently confined in prison in another northern city, Novara.
The police also searched the belongings of several other inmates of North African origin and a wife of a Moroccan inmate who resides in Turin.
Acting as a prison imam, the suspect allegedly called for the destruction of the “satanic” Vatican and praised the jihadist groups Al-Qaeda and Islamic State. He is also said to have hailed the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, deceased Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, and Mohammed Atta, one of the hijackers who crashed a passenger airliner into the World Trade Center in New York, as “defenders of Islam.”
The suspect allegedly called the Jews “sworn enemies of Islam” and advocated for their extermination, as well as praising the 2020 stabbing attack near the former office of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in France, in which two people were injured.
According to la Repubblica, Bouchta was jailed in 2015 as one of the leaders of an international drug-trafficking gang. He subsequently performed the duties of an imam in several prisons across the northwestern Piedmont region before ending up in Alessandria. The paper reported that Bouchta was eventually barred from preaching after inmates he had contact with became hostile towards prison staff.
Protesters force UK immigration officers to release 2 men detained in Scotland
after crowd surrounds van
13 May, 2021 18:24
Two Muslim men detained by immigration officers in Scotland have been released from a police van to huge cheers from a 100-strong crowd who amassed around the vehicle to prevent the pair being taken away from their home in Glasgow.
An hours-long standoff between activists and dozens of police had ensued in Kenmure Street in southern Glasgow from Thursday morning, after two immigrants were taken from a flat there by immigration officers.
Police were filmed trying to remove protesters, many of whom sat in the road to stop the UK Home Office van moving, while one man even maneuvered himself underneath the vehicle.
BREAKING: Police have just tried to move in on protesters gathered around immigration enforcement van on Kensmure Street in Glasgow. @LBC@LBCNewspic.twitter.com/t6Y9pmtUiy
— Alan Zycinski (@AlanJZycinski) May 13, 2021
The Home Office action was widely condemned, including by Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who said she was “deeply concerned” by the scenes.
Later in the day, Police Scotland said in a statement that Chief Superintendent Mark Sutherland had decided to release the two men “back into their community” in order to “protect the safety, public health and wellbeing” of all those involved in both the detention and the protest.
Videos from Kenmure Street on Thursday afternoon showed the men being released from the back of the van by officers to cheers and applause from the surrounding crowd.
Later footage then appeared to show them being escorted to a local mosque by crowds who chanted “refugees are welcome here.”
The 2 men have asked to say thank you to the Glasgow crowd. @itvnewspic.twitter.com/3enE47dmXn
— Peter A Smith (@PeterAdamSmith) May 13, 2021
The men’s lawyer, Aamer Anwar, said an agreement for their release had been struck between the UK Home Office and the Scottish First Minister and Justice Secretary.
In a speech from Kenmure Street, he told the crowd the Home Office had agreed the pair could be released into his custody at the mosque, and that they would not be arrested or be subject to any further action.
An agreement has been reached thanks to @AamerAnwar and @alisonthewliss. The men being detained are being allowed to walk free. We’ve done it Glasgow💛💛💛 pic.twitter.com/tcgSHB51VY
— Cailyn McMahon (@CailynMcMahon) May 13, 2021
Scotland’s Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf said he was “angry and disgusted” at the Home Office’s action in the Muslim community on the day of Eid, saying it looked like it was “intended to provoke.”
He added that he was “pleased” Police Scotland had decided to release the men, but said the UK government’s “hostile environment” immigration policy was “not welcome in Scotland.”
It's like people in Scotland are completely unaware of the thousands of young Brit girls who have been groomed, gang-raped, drugged, and beaten by Pakistani Muslims.
12 killed, 15 wounded in mosque bombing near Kabul
amid Friday prayers & truce with Taliban
14 May, 2021 12:43
© Omar Sobhani / Reuters
A bomb was detonated in a mosque near Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, killing 12, including the imam, and injuring 15. The attack took place during Friday prayers and amid a three-day truce with the Taliban.
The blast occurred at the Haji Bakhshi Mosque in the Shakar Dara district, north of Kabul, Afghan media reported, citing police. A source told TV channel TOLOnews that the bomb had been placed inside the building. Mufti Numan, the mosque's imam, was among those killed in the explosion.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The blast took place as the government forces and the Taliban militant group were observing a three-day truce, which came into effect on Thursday, during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr. The attack also occurred after nine people were killed in two explosions in the Kunduz and Kandahar provinces.
A particularly deadly terrorist attack happened on Saturday, when a car bomb detonated outside a girls’ school in Kabul, followed by two more explosions. Afghan First Vice President Amrullah Saleh said on Tuesday that at least 86 students were killed. The Taliban denied any involvement and condemned the blasts.
The US is on track to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by September 11, after spending two decades there fighting the Taliban and other militant groups. This week, the Pentagon reportedly turned over the Kandahar Airfield, a major American military training hub in southern Afghanistan, to Afghan security forces.
No comments:
Post a Comment