9 Moroccans Acquitted in Rome Poison Case

An Italian court Wednesday acquitted nine Moroccans of plotting to attack the U.S. Embassy in Rome by poisoning its water supply.

The nine were arrested in February 2002 on suspicions they were planning to spike the embassy’s water supply with a mildly poisonous chemical compound, which was found at the Rome apartment where four of the suspects lived. Maps indicating the embassy were found outside the same apartment.

The nine were accused of association aimed at international terrorism -- a charge introduced after the Sept. 11 attacks as part of Italy’s efforts to crack down on suspected Islamic terrorists.

The verdict by the eight-member panel came after about three hours of deliberations in a high-security courthouse in Rome.

Prosecutor Franco Ionta had asked the court to convict four of the defendants, seeking prison terms of up to 7 1/2 years. He had urged acquittal of the other five because of lack of evidence.

The defendants denied any wrongdoing, arguing that the case was a misunderstanding fed by general fear of terrorism.

Prosecutors and the U.S. Embassy declined to comment on the verdict.

In a separate case, the court also acquitted a Pakistani, a Tunisian and an Algerian arrested in 2002 and accused of forming a terrorist cell based around a Rome mosque. The three also were accused of association aimed at international terrorism, based on telephone taps in which police alleged hearing the suspects talking about weapons.

The two cases were not connected but were joined to shorten court time.