Mohammed Daki et al. case before the Supreme Court: Court of Cassation, First Penal Section, Judgement No. 1072, 11 October 2006

This Judgement revokes the Judgement delivered by the Third Court of Appeal of Milan, which absolved some members of an Islamic fundamentalist group operating in Italy from any breach of Article 270 bis of the Italian penal code, dealing with ‘association for purposes of terrorism’.In the reasoning of the Court of Appeal, the activities carried out by the accused in the imminence of the attack against Iraq by so called ‘Coalition of the Willings’ can not be described as acts of terrorism, but as acts of violence committed in warfare by fighters for freedom.The Court of Cassation deems this interpretation erroneous, because the purpose of terrorism may result,under Italian legislation, also from acts committed during armed conflicts, provided that these acts are directed against non-combatants or, if directed against military objectives, when there is certainty that they will cause serious prejudice to the civilian population, and thus contributing to spreading indiscriminate fear.