Would I be considered terrorist if I fought the French in Algeria?

Abou Alkama the Mauritanian: ...Bilal El Djazairi trained me to carry out terrorist operations in northern Algeria....

• «Your Lordship, would you have considered me a terrorist if I had fought against France in Algeria?” This is how Abou Alkama completed the trial, by insinuating that he wanted to fight in Iraq against the Americans. Abou Alkama the Mauritanian, whose real name is Mohamed Ben Mokhtar Mohamed, aged 23 and originated from Nouakchott, capital of Mauritania.
  
  The criminal court has had to deal yesterday with the case of the terrorist ‘Abou Alkama El Mouritani,’ alias Mokhtar Mohamed Ben Mohamed, 23, from the city of Kifa in the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott, who was arrested by the forces of the Algerian National Army in January 2008 in the Zarkaoui camp with a terrorist armed group under the command of the terrorist ‘Yahia Djouadi,’ alias ‘Abou Ammar,’ emir of ‘Katibat El Fatihine,’ which activates on the Algerian-Malian border.
  
  The group in which the defendant was arrested in In Amenas in the Department of Illizi waiting a caravan from Mali, by the terrorist group headed by ‘Mouaouia,’ emir of the communication cell in which Abou Alkama had military training by Bilal El Djazairi for 25 days. The defendant said yesterday in court he was trained with 5 other people of different nationalities, among them, an Algerian, a Moroccan and a Tunisian. He acknowledged that he was trained to use weapons and prepared to commit terrorist operations against the Algerian authorities. He added that he was heading to the north of Algeria to carry out planned operations with terrorist groups against the military and political authorities.
• According to the defendant, they entered Algeria on board three all-terrain vehicles to the camp ‘Zarkaoui’ in order to recover weapons that were hidden in the desert, using the GPS system.
  
  The security services have managed to get their hands on the accused after information received from military aircraft that was able to locate the whereabouts of vehicles.
  
  Abou Alkama said he had no intention of joining terrorist groups activating in Algeria, but he wanted only to go to Iraq as he was convinced by the ‘Jihad’ in Iraq and Palestine. The defendant had met Abou Mouaouia El Djazairi, emir of the communication cell in Mali who had promised to send him to Iraq after training in Mali, adding that their visit to Algeria was only to meet with two groups who received training in Tunisia and Morocco and that they will travel together to Iraq. The latter denies entering in Algeria with the aim of committing terrorist operations against the security and political authorities.
  
  Abou Alkama said he met several terrorists of Mauritanian nationality in Algeria and Mali. He is accused of belonging to armed terrorist group active in the interior, terrorism and undermining security in order to harm the interests of Algeria.
  
  The Attorney General has requested the sentence of 20 years imprisonment against the defendant, the defense has seen in non-compliance with the law having overruns during questioning in the fact that the prosecutor of the Republic has been informed 05 months after his arrest. Moreover, the defendant denied any intent to commit terrorist operations in Algeria, the defense calls for his release because he was just passing by Algeria to Iraq and Palestine.
  
  
• After deliberation, the defendant was sentenced to five years in prison before he was allowed to speak. Abou Alkama asked the judge: "Your Lordship, would you have considered me as a terrorist if I had helped defend Algeria against France?”
  
  Ennahar / Moussa Bounira