ITALY: A Tunisian believed to be a key figure in Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network in Europe was given a five-year sentence by a Milan court yesterday.
Essid Sami Beh Khemais and three other Tunisians were convicted of a series of crimes, including supplying false documents, breaking immigration laws and criminal association with intent to obtain and supply arms, explosives and chemicals. On his arrest warrant, it was alleged that Khemais was the leader of the Italian arm of a European network of "terrorist groups inspired by fundamentalist Islam", with cells operating in Britain, France, Germany and Spain.
The convictions come at the end of a week that has left Italian public opinion perplexed, following the arrest in Rome on Tuesday of four Moroccans, found with a supply of cyanide compound and false documents. Investigators believe the four men, who are still in custody, may form part of a terrorist cell which had been preparing to attack a symbolic target such as the US embassy.
The Moroccans arrested in Rome were also found to be in possession of charts of the city's water network, prompting fears they had intended to poison a neighbourhood, perhaps close to the US embassy, with the cyanide compound. Subsequent tests, however, showed the cyanide compound was a form of potassium ferrocyanide which would have proved harmless if added to the water supply.
But the Milan convictions underline the very real possibility that an extensive network of Islamic terrorists has been set up in Italy. The four men convicted yesterday, after a "fast-track" trial held earlier this month, had all been arrested in northern Italy between last April and October, within the ambit of a joint Italian-German investigation focused on al-Qaeda.
None of the men convicted yesterday was accused of direct involvement in the September 11th attacks on the US, but investigators believe they helped the al-Qaeda network.