Nuclear scientist charged with links to al-Qaida

FRENCH magistrates charged a nuclear scientist suspected of al-Qaida links with “membership of a terrorist group” yesterday, judicial officials said.

The 32-year-old engineer, who was studying the universe’s birth – the Big Bang – at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), was arrested on Thursday last week by police intelligence.

He appeared yesterday in front of an anti-terrorist magistrate in Paris to be placed under formal judicial investigation and was to hear later in the day whether he will remain in custody pending trial.