Italy arrests Muslim cleric

2008-08-18 19:05

Rome - A Moroccan imam accused of helping plot terrorist attacks was arrested over the weekend in northern Italy and may be deported home, Italian police said on Monday.

Abdelmajid Zergout, 43, was held late on Saturday on an arrest warrant issued in late July by prosecutors in Rabat who accuse him of criminal association to plan terrorist attacks, subversion of public order and financing terrorism, police said in Varese, near Milan.

Italian police arrested Zergout, formerly an imam in Varese, three years ago as part of an anti-terrorism investigation in Italy, and he was acquitted last year by a Milan court.

His lawyer, Luca Bauccio, slammed what he called "a politically motivated accusation" and said he would appeal the decision to deport his client, the ANSA news agency reported.

Milan's appeals court has 40 days to decide on the matter, Varese prosecutor Maurizio Grigo told a news conference.

Police seized a computer and materials that are in Arabic and that experts still have to examine.

- AFP