Albanian charged with supporting terror attacks

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albanian law enforcement authorities on Tuesday charged an Albanian man with supporting terror attacks in Western Europe on social media.

A statement from the special prosecutor’s office against corruption and organized crime accused Bledar Zeneli of promoting and urging terror attacks, falsifying documents and weapon possession.

If convicted, he faces up to 17 years in prison.

Using a false profile on Facebook Zeneli and other people, who have yet to be identified, supported terror attacks in Nice, France, and Vienna in October and November 2020 “and other terror attacks and radical actions from extremist persons,” according to prosecutors.

About two-thirds of Albania’s 2.8 million people are Muslims. A decade ago hundreds of them joined radical groups in Syria and Iraq, although the mainstream religious leaders urged believers not to become members.

No Albanians have joined extremist groups in Syria and Iraq in the last seven to eight years, authorities say.