Italian court convicts, issues 6-year sentence to Tunisian ex-captive

[Robb]

Source: AP

ROME -- A former Guantánamo detainee, who was transferred to Italy under a deal with the United States, was convicted Monday of criminal association with the aim of terrorism and sentenced to six years in prison, a lawyer said.

Mohamed Ben Riadh Nasri, a Tunisian national, was one of three Guantánamo inmates Italy agreed to accept in 2009 to help United States President Barack Obama close down the prison. Nasri was transferred to Milan in November 2009 and immediately taken into custody.

On Monday, Nasri's attorney, Roberto Novellino, said Judge Stefania Donadeo issued the guilty verdict after a fast-track trial requested by the defendant.

Prosecutors believe Nasri was a member of a terror group with ties to al Qaeda that recruited fighters for Afghanistan. They said he frequented an Islamic center in Milan in the 1990s which a U.S. Treasury report at the time labeled ``the main al Qaeda station house in Europe.''

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/02/01/2044344/italian-court-convicts-ex-guantanamo.html