Italy expels Islamist suspect who threatened to poison Rome's water
dpa
ROME (dpa)- A 37-year-old Moroccan held in an Italian prison has been forcibly repatriated after he was overheard backing Islamist causes and discussing terrorist actions.
The man hailed the 2015 Bardo Museum attack in Tunisia, which killed more than 20 people, as a "rightful response" to Western military strikes against Muslim countries, the Italian Interior Ministry said in a Monday statement.
He also claimed "that he would have no difficulty entering the Vatican State to commit violent acts or poising Rome's water network," and had teamed up with a Tunisian inmate to spread Islamic State propaganda among prisoners.
In a separate statement, Rome police named the man as Noureddine Laaraj, and said he and his Tunisian peer organized a night-time beating of another prisoner, with stools and broomsticks, because he complained about the noise made by Muslim prayers.
Laaraj was sent to prison for drug-related offences, police added.
Italy adopted tough legislation allowing the fast-track expulsion of foreign nationals suspected of terrorist tendencies, even on relatively flimsy grounds, after the January 2015 Charlie Hebdo Islamist attacks in Paris.
Interior Minister Marco Minniti has credited the scheme for helping to keep the country safe. Unlike Germany, France, Belgium, Britain and Spain, Italy has been spared from terrorist attacks in recent years.
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In a separate statement, Rome police named the man as Noureddine Laaraj, and said he and his Tunisian peer organized a night-time beating of another prisoner, with stools and broomsticks, because he complained about the noise made by Muslim prayers.
Laaraj was sent to prison for drug-related offences, police added.
Italy adopted tough legislation allowing the fast-track expulsion of foreign nationals suspected of terrorist tendencies, even on relatively flimsy grounds, after the January 2015 Charlie Hebdo Islamist attacks in Paris.
Interior Minister Marco Minniti has credited the scheme for helping to keep the country safe. Unlike Germany, France, Belgium, Britain and Spain, Italy has been spared from terrorist attacks in recent years.
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