Italy’s Salvini Deports Islamic Extremist Who Wanted to Kill ‘White Tourists’ and ‘Christians’

The Italian government has announced the deportation of three African migrants suspected of close ties with Islamist terrorist groups, including one who had expressed the desire to kill “white tourists” and “Christians”.

The Ministry of the Interior led by Matteo Salvini released a statement on Friday with a brief description of the three men, adding that they had been identified as linked to “Islamic extremism”, were judged to be “a danger for national security”, and therefore “repatriated.”

The first was a 22-year-old Moroccan man with “numerous precedents” for common crimes, drunkenness, and disorderly behaviour. In October 2017, the man had threatened passers-by outside the synagogue in Florence brandishing a kitchen knife and shouting “Allah Akbar” (God is Greatest).

The second is a 24-year-old Gambian national, who had also been arrested for common crimes, and is accused of having served in “international terrorist groups.” In a notebook found in his possession the man had reproduced diagrams of explosive devices with instructions for their assembly and use.

In the same notebook, the man declared his affinity to a paramilitary formation active in central-western Africa, expressing the strong desire to “kill white tourists” and “Christians” in Gambia by striking hotels and churches. The man wrote that he entrusted the success of his future attacks to Allah.

Finally, authorities also expelled a 28-year-old Tunisian citizen who had been arrested in Modena for vandalism and the sale of drugs. During his trial, the man repeatedly praised the work of the Islamic State and, refusing to return to his detention cell, had attacked prison police.

The announcement of these deportations followed closely on the expulsion of an imam charged with “inciting to Islamic terrorism.” The 26-year-old Egyptian imam, Ahmed Elbadry Elbasiouny Aboualy, had been living in Italy on a work permit since 2005 and was expelled from the country earlier this week.

According to investigators, Aboualy espoused a radical Islamist orientation that was confirmed by surveillance of his electronic communications as well as his dealings in the mosque.

Aboualy had also been identified as one of those responsible for an attack against the magistrate Daniela Santanché in 2009 during a demonstration against the full Islamic veil.

The Interior Ministry declared that Friday’s deportations brought the total number of expulsions carried out since January 2015 to 339, of which 102 have happened in 2018.

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