Thursday, Feb 28, 2008

STRASBOURG, France (AP)--The European Court of Human Rights Thursday ruled Italy would violate the rights of a former Tunisian terror suspect if it were to deport him to his home country, where he allegedly faces torture.

Nassim Saadi was among five Tunisians acquitted by Italian judges in 2005 of charges of helping plan terrorist attacks outside Italy and of recruiting militants.

He was found guilty of criminal conspiracy and of forgery, though, and sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail. Both the prosecution and Saadi appealed that conviction and proceedings are still pending in the Italian courts.

Saadi, who has a child in Italy, was also sentenced by a military court in Tunisia in his absence in 2005 to 20 years in jail for membership in a terrorist organization and for incitement to terrorism. He denied both accusations.

Italy has unsuccessfully tried to deport Saadi since 2006. It has alleged he has helped provide support to fundamentalist Islamist cells in Italy and abroad.

Referring to reports by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, which described a disturbing situation in Tunisian jails, the human rights court said Saadi faced ill-treatment if sent back.

The court said regular cases of torture of people accused under the 2003 Prevention of Terrorism Act were documented. It said the prospect Saadi might pose a serious threat to the community "did not diminish in any way the risk that he might suffer harm if deported."

It said there were grounds to believe he would be subjected to torture or other ill-treatment.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 28, 2008 08:26 ET (13:26 GMT)