Rabat - French police have arrested the treasurer of the Shi’ite “Centre Zahra France” for illegal possession of firearms.
Rabat – French police have arrested the treasurer of the Shi’ite “Centre Zahra France” for illegal possession of firearms.
According to French media outlets Le Nouvel Observateur and Europe 1 the treasurer, a son of the founder Yahia Gouasmi, was arrested for illegal possession of two firearms and is now in pre-trial detention in Dunkirk.
Over 200 police agents raided the association and detained 11 people. The French forces froze the center’s assets for six months. They also conducted a thorough investigation into members’ individual assets.
The raid followed France’s thwarting of an attempted terrorist attack in Villepin on June 30. France claims the Iranian Direction of Internal Security, connected to the Iranian intelligence ministry, had attempted to attack a meeting of an Iranian opposition group, “Moudjahidine of the People” (MEK).
The operation led to the arrest of an Iranian diplomat, and France froze the assets of the organization.
According to the French Huffington Post, Iran has denied the French accusations.
The “Centre Zahra France” has been under investigation by French anti-terrorist police forces under suspicion of supporting alleged terrorist organizations, primarily Hamas and Hezbollah.
The center is also known as an umbrella group for publicly anti-Zionist associations and for its support of French comedian Dieudonné, controversially convicted of condoning terrorism.
