Man with suspected terrorist links arrested in Switzerland

More than 100 officers conducted several house searches in Ticino Keystone

Swiss police have arrested a man for suspected links to terrorist organisations, the federal prosecutor said on Wednesday. He is one of two suspects, of Turkish origins, being investigated for recruiting people to Islamic State or related organisations.

More than 100 officers searched premises, including a ‘place of prayer’, in the southern Swiss canton of Ticino. The joint raids were part of two separate investigations by canton Ticino prosecutors and the Federal Attorney General’s office.

The federal prosecutor said it has launched criminal proceedings against a dual Swiss-Turkish man and a Turkish citizen. They are suspected of having violated Swiss laws outlawing association with Islamic State, al-Qaeda and associated organisations, supporting or participating in a criminal organisation and ‘an offence related to representations of acts of violence’.

“It is suspected that persons have been recruited for the so-called Islamic State or related organisations,” the federal prosecutor’s office said in a statementExternal link.

The suspects have also been linked to an unspecified investigation being carried out by canton Ticino prosecutors.

Several houses were searched in Ticino on Wednesday and a “place of prayer”, although no-one was arrested at the latter location.