Nine charged over attack at controversial mosque
Nine people are facing charges of unlawful detention and causing bodily harm in connection with a brutal attack at a mosque in Winterthur in 2016.
The former members of the controversial An’Nur mosque appeared before the Winterthur district court on January 29th, Blick reported.
They are accused of attacking two worshippers, locking them up and threatening to kill them.
The pair targeted in the attack are thought to have tipped off a journalist about a controversial sermon given by the mosque's imam.
In his sermon the imam called for the murder of Muslims who do not participate in communal prayer, and for others to denounce such people.
The 25-year-old former imam was convicted of incitement to violence last August.
During the investigation, nine adults and one minor were arrested over the attack, but no charges have been brought against the minor.
The accused deny the charges.
Prosecutors have called for prison sentences of 30 to 36 months.
The An'Nur mosque, which has been at the centre of a number of police operations over its alleged support for radical Islam, closed at the end of June last year.
The landlord had refused to extend the rental agreement.
Winterthur is considered a hotspot for Islamic radicalization in Switzerland with at least five young men having left the city to travel to Iraq and Syria to fight for Islamic State.
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The former members of the controversial An’Nur mosque appeared before the Winterthur district court on January 29th, Blick reported.
They are accused of attacking two worshippers, locking them up and threatening to kill them.
The pair targeted in the attack are thought to have tipped off a journalist about a controversial sermon given by the mosque's imam.
In his sermon the imam called for the murder of Muslims who do not participate in communal prayer, and for others to denounce such people.
The 25-year-old former imam was convicted of incitement to violence last August.
During the investigation, nine adults and one minor were arrested over the attack, but no charges have been brought against the minor.
The accused deny the charges.
Prosecutors have called for prison sentences of 30 to 36 months.
The An'Nur mosque, which has been at the centre of a number of police operations over its alleged support for radical Islam, closed at the end of June last year.
The landlord had refused to extend the rental agreement.
Winterthur is considered a hotspot for Islamic radicalization in Switzerland with at least five young men having left the city to travel to Iraq and Syria to fight for Islamic State.
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