Four former directors of a French Muslim religious centre have been arrested on suspicion of continuing to run the association despite its dissolution over alleged support for armed terror groups.
The Zahra Centre in northern France was founded in 2009 by Yahia Gouasmi, a religious figure who has spoken in support of Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Located near the coastal town of Dunkirk, it was closed down in March last year by the French government for alleged calls to arms and condoning violence by Hezbollah and other organisations classified as terror groups.
The centre is also alleged to have disseminated hate speech, anti-semitism and to have incited violence.
The judicial source revealed that four former leaders of the centre were taken into custody on Tuesday, though one has been freed for health reasons.
Prosecutors are investigating the group for "participation in or maintenance of a dissolved association".
In October 2018, French police launched a dawn anti-terror raid on the centre as well as the homes of its directors, yielding a cache of illegal firearms.
The raids on the centre in 2018 were carried out under the French anti-terrorism laws Strengthening Internal Security and the Fight Against Terrorism” (SILT).
At the time the French prosecutors said they were freezing the assets of the centre, as well as accounts of a branch of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence.
The four are accused of preaching on site and on social media, the prosecution service said.
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