US embassy cable - 05MILAN548

C O N F I D E N T I A L MILAN 000548 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/WE:YOUNG AND FETCHKO; EUR/PGI: REASOR; 
S/CT:KUSHNER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/12/2030 
TAGS: PTER, PGOV, ASEC, IT, ANTITERRORISM/FORCE PROTECTION 
SUBJECT: MILAN MAGISTRATE TO PUSHES FOR TRIAL FOR TERRORISM 
SUSPECTS 
 
REF: MAY 18 ROME DAILY REPORT 
 
Classified By: Classified by CG Deborah Graze for reasons 1.5 (B) and ( 
 
D). 
 
1. (SBU) On December 1 Milan Magistrate Elio Ramondini 
submitted his request to bring Majid Zergout, former Imam of 
the Omar El Farouk mosque in Varese, and his close advisors 
Majid Zergout Mohamed Raouiane and Abellialah El Kaflaoui to 
trial on terrorism charges.  Ramondini reported to Econoff 
that the three had been detained in Turin in May (ref). 
Information was passed from Turin to Milan in October. 
Following Ramondini,s recent request, the case will now go 
to a preliminary hearing, likely to take place at the end of 
January, where a judge will decide if there is sufficient 
evidence to continue the case.  Provided the judge rules in 
Ramondini,s favor, the trial is unlikely to start before 
May. 
 
2. (C) The three are accused of having provided funds and 
finding &new recruits8 to support radical groups in Morocco 
believed to have ties with GICM.  According to Ramondini, the 
centerpiece of the prosecution rests on testimony of other 
suspects, currently in custody in Morocco and France, which 
have decided to collaborate with police.  Ramondini,s next 
task is to convince officials in Morocco and France to allow 
the collaborators to travel to Italy to testify in the trial. 
 He is not optimistic, but is planning to spend the first 
half of January trying to plead his case in Rabat and Paris. 
Without their testimony, Ramondini is concerned that the 
judge may find insufficient evidence to secure a conviction. 
GRAZE