LOC16:50
13:50 GMT
PARIS, May 4 (KUNA) -- The French judiciary is invoking here Monday a new law that allows it to put on trial a so-called "Foreign Fighter Jihadist" who took part in terrorist activities outside the country, judicial and media reports said.
The accused, Gilles Le Guen, a 60-year-old from the Brittany region of northwest France, was arrested two years ago in Mali, where he was fighting with extremist radicals from Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), "France Info" radio said.
He has been charged with "criminal association with a terrorist enterprise" which could bring him ten years in prison, if convicted, judicial sources said.
What is new is that the "terrorist enterprise" was active outside of French jurisdiction and he would normally not be eligible for charges here in France.
But under the adapted legislation here since the Syria crisis erupted in 2011, the courts can now try French nationals and residents for their actions abroad.
There are over 400 French nationals fighting in Syria and Iraq, according to Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who also said that there were 1,760 people believed to have links with networks in France that are supporting foreign fighters who want to leave the country. About 100 French people have died, mostly in Syria, since that conflict began in March 2011.
Well over 100 "returnees" from Syria and Iraq have been detained here and many are facing trial for their actions outside of France.
Le Guen, who converted to Islam, was captured after a French military intervention in Mali in January 2013 and has been held in preventative detention on charges ever since.
In addition to modifying the law on terrorist activity abroad, France has also tightened up to prevent people leaving to fight in Syria and Iraq and has passed laws that allow for confiscation of passports for up to two years and also on intrusive monitoring of Internet sites and users.
More strict laws on spying on individuals and groups through wire taps and bugging devices are also being put on the books, although civil liberty groups are protesting the newest legislation. (end)
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