Blank bullets sent to Berlusconi with 'Islamist death threat'

Blank bullets sent to Berlusconi with 'Islamist death threat'

An Italian newspaper said Friday it had received a letter containing two
blank bullets and threats against former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi,
warning he faced a fate similar to slain Pakistani political leader Benazir
Bhutto. The letter - the bullets attached to it with adhesive tape - was posted
to the Milanese daily Il Giornale, owned by Berlusconi's brother, Paolo, who
also received "threats of an Islamic character" in the letter, the newspaper
said. The bullets, the letter and a yellow envelope in which it had been sent
were handed over to anti-terrorism police, Il Giornale said. The apparently
unsigned letter said it was a "preliminary" warning to the "Berlusconi brothers
... responsible for the rubbish written in the newspaper and their anti-Islamic
policies.""On the first possible occasion we will act as was done with Bhutto,"
the letter said referring to the Pakistani opposition politician whose
assassination last month has been blamed on Al Qaeda.The letter written in
Italian ended with the words "Allah is great".Italian Prime Minister Romano
Prodi sent a message of "solidarity" to Berlusconi on behalf of the centre-left
government, news reports said.Berlusconi, whose centre-right government
supported the US-led 2003 invasion of Iraq, has been singled out as an enemy of
Islam in several Islamist messages including those issued by Al Qaeda
leaders.

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Berlusconi receives mailed death threat

Published: Saturday, 12 January, 2008, 01:34 AM Doha Time
ROME: Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s richest man and leader of the conservative opposition, received an Islamist death threat in a letter containing two bullets, the Milan daily Il Giornale reported yesterday.The letter, which also threatens Berlusconi’s brother Paolo, was left at Il Giornale’s offices, the paper, owned by the Berlusconi family’s media empire, said on its website.Written in capital letters on a computer, the letter ends with the slogan, “Allah O Akbar” (God is great).“These two blank bullets are a warning for the Berlusconi brothers: one is for Silvio and the other for his brother, responsible for the rubbish they write in the newspaper and their anti-Islam policy,” the letter says.“At the first opportunity ... we will do as they did in Pakistan with (slain opposition leader Benazir) Bhutto: fire real bullets to the head, then an Italian-style suicide bomber to be sure of their disappearance from this world,” it reads, according to Il Giornale.“Bodyguards and security details will not be able to stop us because we are unpredictable,” the letter warns, ending with “Allah O Akbar”.Berlusconi, while prime minister in 2001, infuriated Muslims and appalled Western diplomats with remarks asserting “the superiority of our civilisation ... in contrast with Islamic countries”.Anti-terrorist police are examining the letter, Il Giornale said. – AFP