Anne-Laure Dufeal
Three young men who were said to have been radicalised have been charged with alleged criminal terrorist conspiracy by France’s intelligence services, the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI).
Allegedly inspired by jihadist ideology, the individuals are suspected of planning at least one violent act in the central-eastern city of Poitier involving “homemade bombs”.
The three suspects were charged on December 7 and placed in pre-trial detention
French media Le Parisien reported that one of the suspects was the son of an imam from the Saint-Brieuc city mosque and a former Muslim chaplain at the prison in the same Breton town.
According to the investigation by the authorities, the three men allegedly wanted to avenge the Arab-Berber troops defeated in 732 by Charles Martel at the Battle of Poitiers.
They are suspected of wanting to create chaos and civil unrest in the hope of installing an Imamat, a Muslim theocratic state ruled by Islam.
The preliminary investigation opened on November 20.
The three men allegedly radicalised around jihadist ideologies were arrested in the southwestern city of Nîmes and the northwest city of Nantes.
DGSI agents allegedly caught two of the accomplices boasting over the phone that they had succeeded in making a Triacetone triperoxide (TATP), a homemade explosive.
One aged 19 and the others 20, the three suspects were students in chemistry, psychology and computer science.
A damning report by the French Senate paints a dire picture of the situation in French schools as teachers face an increasing number of threats and attacks from radical Islamists. https://t.co/i30U5aaJjm
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) March 8, 2024
French domestic intelligence services identified them following what were described as alarming exchanges on encrypted messaging platform Telegram.
One of the first to have caught the attention of the DGSI was the imam’s student son who was born in the South of Algiers.
He is suspected of being the organiser behind the alleged operation. He ran a YouTube channel in which he gave “Islamic science” lessons to around 200 subscribers.
The Franco-Algerian came to official notice through his telephone contacts with several S-card status individuals who adhered to radical Islam theory. An S-card status is an administrative record and an indicator used by law enforcement to flag an individual considered to be a potential threat to national security.
According to French media, the three young men were allegedly also planning to go to the Middle East and join a terrorist organisation.
Jean-Pierre Martin and Laurence D’Hondt, who wrote a controversial book on the rising Islamism that is facing teachers in Belgium, have presented their findings to the European Parliament. https://t.co/dcUZkLYJg4
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) December 11, 2024