Free Republic

Introduction and Part One Part Two Part Three PARIS, Feb. 20, 1994 -- My name is Tahar Medjadi. I was born in France. My birthday is Dec. 25, 1970. Details Ahmed Ressam had committed to memory. Details he undoubtedly reviewed as he waited nervously in line, counterfeit passport in hand, at Charles de Gaulle Airport. That first month in Marseille, September 1992, had passed all too quickly. When his visa expired, his desire to stay in France did not. Ressam became an illegal immigrant. Without proper papers, he drifted to Corsica, a French island that has long absorbed expatriate North...

The Turkish Islamic charity behind a flotilla of aid ships that was raided by Israeli forces on its way to Gaza had ties to terrorism networks, including a 1999 al-Qaida plot to bomb Los Angeles International Airport, France's former top anti-terrorism judge said Wednesday. The Istanbul-based Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief, known by its Turkish acronym IHH, had "clear, long-standing ties to terrorism and Jihad," former investigating judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

BERLIN, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Some Muslims in Europe are going to Iraq to fight U.S.-led forces because they see the situation as similar to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, a top French anti-terrorism official said on Thursday. Jean-Louis Bruguiere also said Europe ran the risk of being struck by a new wave of terrorism, urging greater cooperation by intelligence agencies to stamp out more attacks like the March 2004 Madrid bombings and the July attacks in London. The Iraqi situation had "greatly increased the influence of radical Islamist ideology", said Bruguiere, one of Europe's leading anti-terrorism...

Father of Guantanamo Bay Detainee Held Tuesday January 6, 2004 11:46 PM By JEAN-BAPTISTE LABEUR Associated Press Writer LYON, France (AP) - An Islamic cleric whose son is being held at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba was among seven people detained by French security agents Tuesday as part of an investigation into suspected terror networks. The imam, Chellali Benchellali, was arrested at his home in the tough Minguettes high-rise neighborhood of Venissieux, a suburb of the southeastern city of Lyon, said a lawyer for the family. Attorney Jacques Debray said the imam's wife and one of his sons,...