AMSTERDAM, Nov 18 (Reuters) – A Dutch appeals court upheld the acquittal on Friday of a Dutch-Moroccan teenager accused of planning attacks on government buildings, Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport and a nuclear reactor.
The arrest of Samir Azzouz, 19, last year sparked a national security alert. Authorities found machine-gun ammunition, a bullet-proof vest, two mock explosive devices, a silencer, maps and sketches of prominent buildings at his home.
“The court does not doubt the terrorist intention of Samir A. but finds that despite this there was no real threat of an attack,” a copy of the court ruling said.
Azzouz was jailed for three months for illegal possession of weapons in April but acquitted of armed robbery and charges he planned to bomb government buildings after a Rotterdam court said there was not enough evidence to convict him.
Azzouz was rearrested in October along with six other suspected Islamic militants on suspicion of a new plot to attack politicians and government buildings.
The Dutch government has said the country faces a significant threat of becoming the target of a terrorist attack.