RAGE AGAINST THE DYING OF THE LIGHT:

Terrorism Ruling Sparks Outcry in Italy (Tracy Wilkinson, January 26, 2005, LA Times)

An Italian judge's ruling that five North Africans accused of sending suicide bombers to Iraq were "guerrillas" and not "terrorists" has ignited outrage here and given rise to a debate over the definition of militancy in times of war.

Politicians across the ideological spectrum excoriated the judge Tuesday, as did some of her colleagues in the judiciary and leading newspaper editorialists. Several of the defendants in the case had been linked by investigators to violent extremists.

"You don't have to be an Oriana Fallaci to be shocked by this decision," the La Stampa newspaper said in a front-page editorial, referring to a writer known lately for her anti-Muslim views. [...]

The judge, Clementina Forleo, dropped international terrorism charges against the defendants, two Moroccans and three Tunisians, after deciding that their alleged actions did not appear to "exceed guerrilla activity."

In issuing the judgment Monday night, Forleo accepted prosecution claims that the men were members of Islamic fundamentalist cells in the northern city of Milan and nearby Cremona, and were raising money for "paramilitary structures" in Iraq.

Such are the wages of tolerance.

Posted by Orrin Judd at January 26, 2005 9:38 AM