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TERRORISM

Switzerland expels French-Tunisian man over terror fears

Swiss police said on Saturday they had expelled a person facing criminal charges in Switzerland for suspected links to a terrorist group, over fears he poses a threat to national security.

Published: 16 December 2017 17:30 CET
Switzerland expels French-Tunisian man over terror fears
File photo of an armed police officer on patrol. Photo: Richard Juilliart/AFP

Federal police confirmed to AFP their “decision to expel a person who is facing (Swiss) criminal charges for participation in, or lending support to, a terrorist organisation”.

According to Swiss media, the man is a French-Tunisian national in his 40s who was working as a taxi driver when he was arrested in Geneva last June.

He had reportedly attempted to travel to Syria with his family and also helped recruit others to join the jihadists there.

He was released from Swiss detention last Wednesday and has since been sent back to France, where he is also facing criminal charges, the Tribune de Geneva daily reported.

It is unusual for Switzerland to expel someone still facing criminal charges in the country.

Federal police spokeswoman Lulzana Musliu told AFP in an email that the expulsion was justified in this case due to the threat posed “to Switzerland's domestic and external security.”

She said police had consulted with the Swiss intelligence service before determining that the expulsion was justified.

According to the Tribune de Geneve, the dual national, identified only as Bilal, maintains his innocence.
 

CRIME

Hoax bomb threats against French airports ‘traced to Swiss email’

Repeated bomb threats against dozens of French airports which led to evacuations and flight cancellations have been 'traced to an email address in Switzerland', according to French authorities.

Published: 23 October 2023 09:13 CEST
Hoax bomb threats against French airports 'traced to Swiss email'

More than 70 bomb threats have been made against French airports in the past week, leading to evacuations at dozens of airports and at least 130 flights cancelled.

Most of the alerts were triggered by emails warning of a bomb in the airport – more than 70 such emails have been received by airports around the country such as Toulouse, Bordeaux, Paris Beauvais, Marseille and dozens of smaller airports – including Basel-Mulhouse on the Franco-Swiss border. 

On Sunday French Transport Minister Clément Beaune said that “almost all of the threats have been traced to the same email address, situated in Switzerland”.

He added: “Since Wednesday, it is almost always the same email address that is used, located outside the European Union, in Switzerland”.

He called on hosting sites to help the French authorities, saying: “Everyone has a responsibility, including the platforms and social networks, not to support this kind of attack and to cooperate as quickly as possible with the French civil aviation authorities and our justice system.”

In France, the maximum penalty for making a hoax bomb threat is two years in jail and a €30,000 fine.

As well as airport evacuations and flight disruption, French tourist sites have also been hit with bomb hoaxes – the Palace of Versailles has been evacuated seven times in the past week.

It comes in the context of a tense situation in France as the country raised its terror alert to maximum after an apparent Islamist attack on Friday, October 13th in which a teacher was killed and two others wounded.

Security at large events such as the Rugby World Cup matches has been stepped up. 

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