Swiss charge three Muslim leaders over Syria films

GENEVA: Switzerland's top prosecutor on Thursday indicted three leaders of a prominent Islamic group over their alleged production and distribution of jihadist propaganda.
The suspects work with the Islamic Central Council of Switzerland (ICCS) and include its president Nicolas Blancho and spokesman Qaasim Illi.
"The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) alleges that the accused committed offences under the Federal Act on the Proscription of Al-Qaeda, Islamic State and associated organisations," it said in a statement.
According to the OAG, the head of the council's "culture production department", Naim Cherni, travelled to Syria in 2015 and made films there with a known Al-Qaeda leader.
The films, which prosecutors say amounted to jihadist propaganda, were "promoted via social media and at a public event" by Blancho, Illi and Cherni, the OAG said.
Blancho, who converted to Islam at age 16, has in the past denied being tied to extremism but has staked out positions considered more radical than other Muslim leaders in Switzerland.
The council has previously said that the videos Cherni made in Syria have "nothing to do with Al-Qaeda" and were intended to raise awareness among Muslims about the conflict in the country.
In an email to AFP, Illi said the attorney general was "pushed by an Islamophobic social wave (and) is trying to defame Switzerland's largest Islamic grassroots organization by its fabricated claim."
He said the ICCS had nearly 4,000 members, representing about one percent of Muslims in Switzerland.
The ICCS prosecution is one of about 60 jihadist-related cases being pursued by the Swiss attorney general.
If convicted, the council members could face up to five years in prison. — AFP