Free Republic

PARIS, Sept 7, 2006 (AFP) - A controversial imam with a conviction for supporting terrorism was deported by France to Algeria Thursday, the interior ministry said. Chelali Benchellali, 61, a former preacher at a mosque in the suburbs of Lyon, was put on board a flight to Algiers from Orly airport in Paris. Benchellali was given a six-month jail term in June for his role in an underground network that was found guilty of plotting to bomb targets in Paris. He was not imprisoned as he had already served the time in pre-trial detention. Two of Benchellali's sons, Menad and...

An Islamic terrorist cell was poised to launch biological or chemical attacks in France and possibly Britain last year, say French police. They were ready to use the deadly toxins ricin and botulism. French magistrates were expected last night to launch an official investigation into six suspects, five of whom were arrested last week in the Lyon area. Information from the group confirmed that an attack was "on the verge of being launched" last year. Investigators are examining if there is a link between the findings and a small amount of ricin seized in Britain last January, he said. France's...

Six suspected Islamic extremists including the imam of a Lyon area mosque were due to appear before anti-terrorist judges here amid allegations they knew about plans for a chemical attack in France in 2002. Chellali Benchellali, an imam in the Lyon suburb of Venissieux, his wife Hafsa, his son Hafed and two others were detained last week in a series of raids near the eastern city. The sixth suspect was detained southeast of Paris. They were taken into custody as part of a 2002 probe ordered by Paris anti-terrorist judges into a so-called "Chechen network" of Islamic radicals with links...