Italian prosecutors seek prison for alleged plotters

Italian prosecutors on Tuesday requested nine years in prison for two French nationals suspected of belonging to a militant cell linked to Al-Qaeda and of planning attacks against Britain and France.

The two men on trial are an imam of Syrian origin, 64-year-old Bassam Ayachi, who worked mostly in Belgium, and 35-year-old Raphael Gendron.

The two are accused of trying to organise attacks in Britain and France and of having access to arms and explosives.

They were first arrested in 2008 for aiding illegal immigration and were later charged with militancy in 2009.

Prosecutors said the two were “promoters, leaders, organisers and financiers” of a militant cell “serving as a network of logistical support for a supranational subversive organisation… linked to Al-Qaeda.”