New Delhi, May 27: Indian national and banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) activist Mohammad Niaz, detained in France for his alleged involvement in terror activities, has been formally arrested.
Informing this here French Ambassador Jerome Bonnafont to India today said Rafiq has been formally arrested after charges against him had been framed.
He said Niaz had been chargesheeted and “at present he is in judicial custody” adding, the legal process is taking its course.
The French Ambassador, however, declined to elaborate further saying “the matter was sub judice” and it would not be appropriate for him to speak more on the issue.
Niaz, an engineer originally from Madurai (TN), was detained at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris on May 10 on his arrival from Algeria, where he had developed links with Al Qaeda activists who were recruiting people for ‘jihad’ in Pakistan and Afganistan.
A trained activist of SIMI, which has affiliations with the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Niaz joined the SIMI based in Tamil Nadu at the age of 21 and was reportedly associated with Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, one of the Al Qaida’s franchises, in Algeria which has vowed to carry out attacks against France and other western countries.
Niaz was among seven suspected terrorists held by French authorities, but until now had not been linked with any specific plan to carry out attacks in that country.
After initial investigations, French authorities had described Niaz as a man with a high level of technical training.
Niaz first arrived in France in 2008 in search of a job, but soon became part of a group of ‘jihadis’ that included among others four French nationals of Moroccan origin, one French national of Turkish origin, one French national of Pakistani origin and two others.
His arrest came after a long trail by French intelligence agency, DCRI, that established his close association with highly radicalised Muslims and his frequent trips to Algeria and from there to Pakistan.
–UNI