The judicial battle on the Hamas network in Italy and the threats to journalists raise serious questions

The issue involving the Italy-based Hamas-linked network and its leader, the Palestinian preacher Mohammad Hannoun, has already been extensively covered by the Washington Outsider in the past two years.  However, the latest judicial developments raised serious concerns regarding the trial and beyond, as some Italian MPs said that the decision puts Italy’s national security at stake.

As explained by the Italian daily newspaper Il Giornale, which has been constantly and closely following Hannoun’s case, on April 8 the Court of Cassation issued its ruling on the appeals filed by the Genoa prosecutor’s office and the defense team in the investigation into the Hamas movement in Italy, which involves Hannoun, currently detained in the maximum security prison in Terni on charges of being the leader of the terrorist organization in Italy. All the prosecutor’s appeals against the releases were declared inadmissible. The prosecutor had challenged the Court of Review’s decision to order the release of Raed Al Salahat and Khalil Abu Deiah, the legal representative of the La Cupola d’Oro association.

All the defense team’s appeals were upheld, with the case being remanded to Genoa for a new trial. A new section of the Court of Review will have ten days to reexamine the case after the Cassation’s ruling motivations are made public, and therefore decide whether the four individuals currently in prison should be released or not. Hannoun and three of his associates (Raed Daoud, Riyadh al-Bustanji, and Yaser Alisaly) are in fact currently still in prison.... https://www.thewashingtonoutsider.com/the-judicial-battle-on-the-hamas-network-in-italy-and-the-threats-to-journalists-raise-serious-questions/