Italian Judge:suicide bombers to Iraq were "guerrillas" -not "terrorists"

[papau]

Terrorism Ruling Sparks Outcry in Italy

ROME-An Italian judge's ruling that five North Africans accused of
sending suicide bombers to Iraq were "guerrillas" and not
"terrorists" has ignited outrage here and given rise to a debate
over the definition of militancy in times of war. By Tracy
Wilkinson.
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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-judge26jan26.story
THE WORLD
Terrorism Ruling Sparks Outcry in Italy
A judge says five men accused of soliciting suicide bombers for Iraq can't be called terrorists.
By Tracy Wilkinson
Times Staff Writer

January 26, 2005

ROME — An Italian judge's ruling that five North Africans accused of sending suicide bombers to Iraq were "guerrillas" and not "terrorists" has ignited outrage here and given rise to a debate over the definition of militancy in times of war.

<snip>
The judge, Clementina Forleo, dropped international terrorism charges against the defendants, two Moroccans and three Tunisians, after deciding that their alleged actions did not appear to "exceed guerrilla activity."

In issuing the judgment Monday night, Forleo accepted prosecution claims that the men were members of Islamic fundamentalist cells in the northern city of Milan and nearby Cremona, and were raising money for "paramilitary structures" in Iraq.

But, citing the United Nations' 1999 convention on terrorism, she said guerrilla activities in war zones did not become terrorism unless they broke international humanitarian law or were designed to create terror among civilians. There was no evidence the defendants' activities crossed this line, she said.

She sentenced three of the men to jail terms of up to three years for lesser crimes, including the trafficking of fraudulent identification papers, and remanded the other two defendants to another court for a related prosecution.<snip>

[el_gato]

1. "terrorist" has to mean something other than

a label for people who are opposed to you, which is how it is used now.

[happyslug]

2. Here is a copy of the Treaty:

http://untreaty.un.org/English/Terrorism/Conv12.pdf

And it was ratified by the US in 2002:
http://untreaty.un.org/ENGLISH/Status/Chapter_xviii/treaty9.asp

And for the UN's collection of Treaties:
http://untreaty.un.org/English/treaty.asp