VENICE – A 25-year-old Tunisian wanted for terrorism and suspected of being a member of ISIS was identified and arrested by the anti-terrorist police force (Digos) of Venice and Gorizia, police said Thursday. He arrived in Lampedusa on a boat, spent the quarantine period for Covid in the province of Venice, then the Interpol report arrived and he was transferred to a detention center in Gradisca, Friuli, pending the request for extradition by the African country.

 It is not clear whether the man, identified by Italian police only with the initials R.F., was involved in actually carrying out acts of terrorism, however documentation from Tunis specified that he is a dangerous subject who was part of a Daesh cell in possession of explosives.

 The man arrived in Lampedusa on Sept. 16 under a pseudonym and “from the first statements made at the time of his landing," he expressed his intention "not to remain on the national territory," explained police, indicating that his goal was to reach another European country.

 From Sicily he was transferred to a reception facility for asylum seekers in the province of Venice. After a couple of weeks Tunisian police alerted their Italian counterparts, through Interpol, of the presence of one of their citizens, a member of a terrorist cell, contiguous to ISIS, in Italy.

 Venice police put the man under surveillance then confirmed his identity using fingerprints sent from Tunis. The arrest took place on the basis of the international arrest warrant issued by the Tunis Tribunal.

 "In Italy he did nothing illegal, but he was closely monitored and controlled," said Carlo Ferretti, manager of the Venetian branch of Digos. "The Tunisian judicial authority internationalised the arrest order for 'participation in terrorist associations and acts of terrorism', which was validated by the Public Prosecutor of Trieste, pending the extradition procedures.”

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