Convicted Tunisians sought al-Qaeda links

[Robert Guerra <rguerra@lists.privaterra.org>]

http://www.brunei-online.com/bb/mon/apr12w38.htm

Convicted Tunisians sought al-Qaeda links

  TUNIS (AFP) - Eight young Tunisians jailed for up to 26 years for 
subversive activities had been trying to contact the al-Qaeda network 
to make use of its logistical backup, official sources said in the 
capital Saturday.

  The sentences by the Tunisian court were deemed scandalous by human 
rights activists.

  The official sources here said the defendants, aged 18 to 22, had 
"tried to establish contact with the Al-Qaeda terrorist movement to 
benefit from its logistical support."

  The accused, all from Zarzis in southern Tunisia, were found guilty 
of criminal conspiracy and attempting to steal and possess explosives 
and received between 19 and 26 years jail.

  An official statement said Friday that since 2001, the group had 
organised meetings to plan "terrorist" activities such as plotting an 
attack on their school and on the Zarzis coastguard station.

  Their attorneys told AFP the defendants had been found guilty of 
subversive activities because they had used the Internet. Defence 
lawyer Samir Ben Amor said they had been blamed for having a strong 
interest in the Palestinian cause and asking a teacher how 
Palestinian suicide bombers carry out their missions.

  "We are shocked by the overly severe verdict," Amor said. "The only 
proof against them is material that has been cut and pasted on the 
Internet."

  The official sources in the capital said the "Zarzis group" as they 
became known, had "acknowledged their links with an international 
terrorist network and participation in planning and carrying out 
terrorist plans in Zarzis."

  Human rights activists called the verdicts scandalous.

  "We are used to unfair trials but the Zarzis verdict is truly 
scandalous for Tunisia, which wants to organise the World Summit for 
the Information Society (WSIS)," said Souhayr Belhassen of the 
Tunisian Human Rights League.

  The summit will bring together representatives world-wide to 
discuss, among other things, freedom of speech and Internet 
regulation.

  The human rights group Amnesty International has listed Tunisia, 
with China and Vietnam, among countries that "continue to imprison 
opponents, persecute journalists and even punish ordinary Internet 
users."