Minor detained over links to jihadism

Vaud police have confirmed the arrest Keystone

Vaud police have confirmed that they have arrested a 17-year-old suspected of “participating in a criminal organisation that is linked to the jihad movement”. The arrest took place at the end of July.

“He is currently in custody,” Olivia Cutruzzolà, Vaud cantonal policeExternal link spokeswoman told the Swiss News Agency, confirming information that appeared in the Matin Dimanche External linkand SonntagsZeitungExternal link newspapers.

He lives in the canton and is almost at the age of majority, she added.

This is the third detention of a person with possible links to terror in Switzerland over the summer. On August 9 a suspected Swiss jihadist was detained at Zurich Airport.

The Swiss-Tunisian dual national, who is a resident of French-speaking Switzerland, is accused of ties to a terrorist organisation and has been placed in custody.

Criminal proceedings

The arrest was made in connection with criminal proceedings that the Attorney General’s Office opened on February 19, 2016.

In the proceedings, the prosecutor’s office confirmed that a 21-year-old man from French-speaking Switzerland was also arrested on June 8, 2016 at Zurich Airport after returning to Switzerland from Turkey. He was also placed in custody.

In July, a Swiss court sentenced a man to an 18 months suspended prison sentence after being arrested at Zurich airport trying to board a flight to Turkey.

This was the first Swiss court case involving someone trying to leave the country for jihadi purposes.

Since 2001, 77 people have left Switzerland to fight in conflict areas, mostly Syria and Iraq, according to figures for July from the Federal Intelligence Service. Of these, 29 had Swiss citizenship – and of those 17 had dual nationality. At the end of July, 13 of the 77 cases had returned to Switzerland.