Morocco probes Hezbollah journo
2008-05-28 09:51
Sale - A Moroccan investigative judge on Tuesday questioned a journalist from Hezbollah's Al-Manar television who was being held on terrorism charges, said court officials.
Moroccan journalist Abdelhafid Sriti was the correspondent here for the Lebanon-based Al-Manar TV. He was arrested in February along with 35 others suspected of belonging to a terrorism cell headed by Abdelkader Belliraj, a Belgian of Moroccan origins accused of ties to al-Qaeda and local terror groups.
The alleged cell was suspected of plotting to commit terrorism attacks and organising an al-Qaeda support network to send money and fighters to Iraq.
Authorities did not say what Sriti was specifically accused of, but the official MAP news agency reported he was being held in "pre-emptive detention" since his arrest.
Sriti was heard by an investigative judge on Tuesday, while Belliraj, the alleged ringleader, already had been questioned by a judge at the Sale tribunal, next to the capital, Rabat.
36 suspects probed
Investigative judges operated under the Moroccan judicial system much like district attorneys in the United States, and Sriti's interrogation on Tuesday was not open to the media.
All 36 suspects, including the journalist, were being investigated for "murder with premeditation" and "organising a criminal group to prepare and commit terrorist actions", as well as arms smuggling, forging documents and money laundering.
No date had been set for their trial.
In a separate case, the Sale criminal court announced on Tuesday it was postponing until June 10 the sentencing of 27 defendants from another group known as the "Tetouan cell" after the northern Moroccan city where many alleged members came from.
The court, which specialised in terrorism cases, was judging the cell on charges that included forming "a terrorist structure with international ramifications and specialised in recruiting and sending volunteer (fighters) to Iraq".
Lack of proof
Alleged ringleader Khaled Ould Ali Tahar faced 25 years in prison, and Ahmed Safri, a Swede of Moroccan origins, could be sentenced to 20. Safri's lawyer pleaded not guilty for his client on Tuesday.
"There is a lack of proof, the legal procedures weren't respected, and the various elements of the accusations don't apply to my client," Abdellatif Ennouari said outside the court room.
He said he also pleaded not guilty for eight of the other suspects he had been assigned to defend on a pro-bono basis because they hadn't been able to hire a lawyer.
Several of the defence lawyers said the only evidence against the cell, which was dismantled in January 2007, was confessions taken by police, which they said weren't admissible in court and were, at times, coerced.
The official MAP agency said the prosecution had separated evidence to back its terrorism charges based on "objects confiscated by police". Neither the prosecutor nor the agency had elaborated on this.
- AP