Swiss indict 3 over alleged al-Qaeda propaganda videos

GENEVA – Federal prosecutors in Switzerland on Thursday announced indictments of the leader of a prominent Swiss Islamic group and two other top members over alleged al-Qaeda propaganda videos posted on YouTube. Contacted by phone in Bangladesh, one of the suspects rejected the case as "politically motivated."

Attorney General Michael Lauber's office alleges the three members of the Islamic Central Council of Switzerland violated Swiss laws banning al-Qaeda, Islamic State and associated radical groups. His office and federal police have opened about 60 cases linked to alleged "jihadi-motivated terrorism," mostly involving propaganda.

The indictments target ICCS President Nicolas Blancho, the group's cultural production chief Naim Cherni, who is a German citizen, and spokesman Abdel Azziz Qaasim Illi, said Illi in a phone interview. Blancho and Illi are both Swiss citizens, he said. They all remain free.