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FRANCE - Netherlands

Terror suspect extradited to France from Netherlands

A Dutch court on Thursday authorised the extradition of terror suspect Anis Bahri to France. Bahri, a French national, is suspected of plotting a terror attack in France with Reda Kriket, who was arrested before him, on the orders of the Islamic State (IS) armed group.

Police at Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport
Police at Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport Reuters/Christian Hartmann
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"The court doesn't see any reason to refuse handing you over [to French authorities] and so approves the request," judge Hans Kijlstra told the public court hearing in Amsterdam.

Bahri, who was born in Montreuil near Paris and lived in the Val de Marne region next door to the capital, had opposed the demand on the grounds that he feared mistreatment in a French prison and could be sentenced to life in prison.

He was arrested in the Dutch port of Rotterdam on 27 March on Paris's request and had a Sim card, a mobile phone, fake Bulgarian identity papers and 772.75 euros on him at the time.

A search of his flat in Rotterdam found 45 kilos of munitions, including two kinds of bullets, both suitable for use in Kalashnikov rifles.

Kriket, a former burglar, had been arrested a few days beforehand on the outskirts of Paris.

Pair visited Syria

He was charged with "preparing one or several crimes against persons" and Bahri is suspected of being his accomplice.

The pair are believed to have gone to Syria towards the end of 2014, according to French public prosecutor François Molins, and to have regularly travelled between France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

The plot was separate from the Paris attacks but investigators say they have established some links between the suspects and the November attackers.

Anti-terror law passed

The French Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed an anti-terror law that made many measures instituted by the state of emergency declared after the November Paris attacks permanent.

They include allowing:

  • Detention for up to four hours after an identity check;

  • Night-time searches of premises during preliminary inquiries;

  • Easing of limits of the use of weapons by police;

  • House arrest of a month for people returning from conflict zones suspected of involvement in terrorism;

  • Life sentences without remittal of a minimum of 30 years, eight more than previously allowed;

  • Punishment for consulting terrorist websites.

Thursday's session was the final reading so the measures are now law.

All parties voted in favour except for the Left Front, which includes the Communist Party and Jean-Luc Mélenchon's Left Party.

To read our coverage of the November Paris attacks, click here

To read our coverage of the January 2014 Charlie Hebdo attacks, click here

 

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