France terror trial shaken by police brutality

PARIS - An alleged terrorist who spent 10 years awaiting extradition from Britain appeared in court in Paris yesterday in a trial which may be a crucial test of France's anti-terrorist police.

Rachid Ramda, 36, who was extradited from Britain in December, is accused of acting as banker for a series of bombings of the Paris Metro by Islamist fundamentalists in 1995.

His extradition was delayed by British courts because of evidence presented by his lawyers that confessions had been beaten from other suspects by French police.

Ramda's lawyer, Benoit Dietsch, asked for his trial to be delayed, pending an internal police investigation into the torture allegations. A trial of two alleged Corsican terrorists collapsed last week because of concerns about the reliability of evidence from the same squad.

The adjournment request is not expected to succeed.

- INDEPENDENT