Italian police officers on Monday arrested a 21 year-old Moroccan man on suspicion of “international terrorism” charges after content published by him on social media suggested he planned to carry out an attack similar to the one in Modena last month.
Italian outlets described the man as Zakaria Ben Haddi, born in Vimercate, Brianza to migrant parents from Morocco and who happens to turn 21 on Tuesday, June 02. He was detained by order of the Milan Public Prosecutor’s Office after an investigation determined that Ben Haddi published social media posts “glorying Martyrdom” and the promotion of terrorism and attacks by radical Islam against the West and Christianity.
He also posted content glorifying the May 15 car-ramming attack in Modena, carried out by 31 year-old Salim El Koudri.
La Repubblica detailed that Ben Haddi constantly posted Islamic State propaganda videos on Instagram and TikTok. Chief Milan Prosecutor Marcello Viola reportedly detailed Ben Haddi underwent a “process of indoctrination and radicalization” over the internet and was arrested for presumptively having joined the Islamic State.
Recent analysis of Zakaria Ben Haddi’s social media pretense alarmed Italian authorities of a dangerous acceleration of ideological acceleration and led prosecutors believe that Ben Haddi was “on the verge” of carrying out a violent terrorist attack.
The suspicions became more alarming for local authorities on May 30 after Ben Haddi, in a social media post, wrote “Tomorrow I will make Italy better.” In a follow-up message, he wrote, “Don’t blame me for what I’ll do tomorrow because I’m doing the right thing.”
The messages, prosecutors reportedly emphasized, revealed “the concrete possibility that the suspect intended to carry out an unspecified violent and sensational act.” He was arrested days before he intended to board an already booked flight to Morocco on June 9. According to La Repubblica, the investigations, led by Chief Marino Graziano and Beniamino Manganaro revealed “strong evidence of guilt” in the suspect.
Italian outlets reported that Ben Haddi alleged before the court that the posts were published solely for “informational” purposes. Judge Rossana Mongiardo is reportedly expected to issue a ruling on Wednesday regarding the arrest pre-trial detention measures.
With regards to the references to the May 15 Modena attack shared by Ben Haddi on social media, he reportedly justified to the judge that he “knew it was not a terrorist attack,” but posted the video of the “car running over pedestrians anyway.” He further claimed that his scheduled trip to Morocco is because he has to “take an exam.”
The Italian Public broadcaster Rai News explained that the investigation that ultimately led to the arrest of Zakaria Ben Haddi stems from the results of a broader efforts of Italian law enforcement that led to the arrest of an Italian-Albanian man allegedly linked to a online network of “young neo-Nazi and antisemitic extremists.”
“This [Monday] morning’s arrest of a man residing in Brianza and charged with international terrorism once again demonstrates the effectiveness of the measures our country has implemented to combat the dangerous phenomenon of Islamist radicalization,” Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said, per Rai News.
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