Reports: Hadron Collider physicist arrested on terrorism charges

October 10, 2009 11:10 AM PDT

by Chris Matyszczyk

A 32-year-old nuclear physicist, part of the Large Hadron Collider project on the Swiss-French border, has been arrested by French police on suspicion of involvement with al-Qaeda.

According to The Independent (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/hadron-lab-scientist-held-on-terrorism-charges-1800647.html), the arrest was made after anti-terrorist police had followed his movements for more than a year. Le Figaro newspaper (http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2009/10/09/01016-20091009ARTFIG00471-isere-l-un-des-terroristes-arrete-etait-chercheur-au-cern-.php) suggested that the man’s name had originally come to light in connection with the “Afghan network” of terrorist groups based in Europe.

(Credit: CC Ethan Hein/Flickr

Of Algerian origin, he was arrested together with his brother, who was not working on the Collider.

Sources told The Independent that the scientist was not thought to be threatening the Collider itself, but rather was helping terrorists choose nuclear targets for attack.

The French Ministry of the Interior told Le Figaro that, having seized the man’s two computers, three hard disks, and several USB keys, it believed the threat was serious. A Ministry spokesman said, “Our investigation showed without doubt that there were targets in France and elsewhere and indicated that we have perhaps avoided the worst.”

CERN reassured the Independent that the suspect was not working on any of the major elements of the Collider, nor did he have access to the tunnel in which the Big Bang experiment is to be carried out. The CERN representative added, “None of our research has potential for military application, and all our results are published openly in the public domain.”

The Collider is due to for a restart (http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-10305480-76.html) in November. One can only hope it’s a safe one.

Chris Matyszczyk is an award-winning creative director who advises major corporations on content creation and marketing. He brings an irreverent, sarcastic, and sometimes ironic voice to the tech world. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-10372398-71.html

Hadron lab scientist held on terrorism charges

Physicist working on Big Bang suspected of advising al-Qa’ida on possible targets

By John Lichfield in Paris

Saturday, 10 October 2009

http://www.independent.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00249/IN12001043Mandatory_249508t.jpg

The central axis of the Large Hadron Collider tunnel operated by Cern

A nuclear physicist working on the “large collider” experiment to simulate the Big Bang has been arrested in France on suspicion of advising al-Qa’ida on possible terrorist targets.

The 32-year-old French scientist, of Algerian origin, is being held with his younger brother after being trailed, and bugged, by French anti-terrorist police for more than a year.

A judicial source told the newspaper Le Figaro: “This is very high level.” The French Interior Minister, Brice Hortefeux, said that the investigation “may perhaps show that we have prevented the worst”.

The scientist – who was not immediately named – was arrested alongside his brother near Lyons on Thursday on suspicion of having contacts with al-Qa’ida in the Islamic Maghreb, or Aqim. He was said to have been suspected of giving advice on possible nuclear targets within France.

The suspect was one of 7,000 working on the Cern project on the Swiss-French border to build a Large Hadron Collider, with the aim of simulating some of the conditions of the Big Bang in an attempt to answer questions about the origins of the universe. Since its official opening last year, the 17-mile circular underground tunnel has mostly been closed for repairs.

French sources suggested to Le Figaro that he was not planning to threaten the collider itself. Officials at Cern added that the arrested scientist had no access to materials that could be used for terrorism. Cern emphasised that his work at the centre, on one of the smaller experiments linked to the collider, should not be cause for alarm. “None of our research has potential for military application, and all our results are published openly in the public domain,” a statement said. The physicist had no access to the tunnel itself.

Le Figaro said that the French internal security agency, the DCRI, hoped the arrests would help European governments to dismantle an important al-Qa’ida network. Intelligence sources told the newspaper that the scientist had been under surveillance for 18 months after his name came up in the investigation of the so-called “Afghan network” of European terror groups.

Investigators also intercepted internet messages between the older of the two brothers and people identified as being linked to Aqim. The messages concerned possible French nuclear targets. Other judicial sources told Reuters that the men were believed to be planning attacks in France but no specific targets had yet been identified.

The advanced scientific qualifications of the older brother suggest that this was not “just a fantasy” but a real plot, intelligence sources said. Police seized two computers, three hard disks and several USB keys.

Mr Hortefeux recalled yesterday that Aqim and other terror groups had recently listed France among their possible targets. “We are on permanent alert and follow the declarations of certain groups day by day,” he said. “We never drop our guard. The risk is permanent.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/hadron-lab-scientist-held-on-terrorism-charges-1800647.html

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