Latest news with #AboubakarCisse
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
French anti-terror prosecutor investigates killing of Tunisian national
PARIS - The French anti-terrorism prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into whether the killing of a Tunisian national in southern France was a racially motivated crime "related to a terrorist undertaking". The Tunisian man, who has not been officially identified but is thought be around 35, was shot dead by a neighbour late on Saturday in the town of Puget-sur-Argens, the local prosecutor said. A 25-year-old Turkish national was also shot in the hand and taken to hospital after the incident. The anti-terrorism prosecutor's office told Reuters on Monday that it was investigating charges of racially motivated assassination and attempted assassination related to a terrorist undertaking, as well as charges of involvement in a terrorist criminal group planning one or several violent crimes. The prosecutor for the southern commune of Draguignan said on Sunday that the suspect was a 53-year-old man who practises shooting as a sport and who published what it said was hateful and racist content on his social media account before and after Saturday's killing. The killing follows the fatal stabbing of Aboubakar Cisse, a 22-year-old man from Mali, in a mosque in the southern French town of La Grand-Combe last month amid what official figures suggest is rising racism in France. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau condemned Saturday's shooting, saying on x that "racism must be severely punished." Political opponents have said his stances on immigration and Islam have contributed to rising levels of hate crime. French police recorded an 11% rise in racist, xenophobic or anti-religious crimes last year, according to official data published in March. France has the largest Muslim population in Europe, numbering more than 6 million and making up about 10% of the country's population. Some French politicians, including President Emmanuel Macron, have criticised what they describe as Islamist separatism in a way that rights groups have said stigmatises Muslims and amounts to discrimination. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Local France
4 days ago
- Local France
France probes terror motive after man shoots dead Tunisian neighbour
The shooting late Saturday in Puget-sur-Argens in the Var region comes after a Malian man was stabbed to death in April in a mosque, also in southern France, as concern grows over hate crimes against Muslims. The shooting was initially investigated by regional prosecutors as a suspected murder motivated by the victim's ethnicity or religion. But French national anti-terror prosecutors ( Parquet national antiterroriste , PNAT) announced Monday that they would be taking over the investigation. The suspected killer, a 53-year-old who is French, fled the scene in a car but was arrested not far away after his partner alerted police. He posted videos with racist content before and after the shooting late on Saturday, according to regional prosecutor Pierre Couttenier. The Tunisian man killed, believed to be 35 years old, was shot five times. The Turkish citizen, 25, was wounded in the hand and hospitalised, the prosecutor said. Advertisement A sports shooting enthusiast, the suspect "posted two videos on his social media account containing racist and hateful content before and after his attack," he added. The PNAT prosecutors said Monday that they had opened an investigation into a "terrorist plot" motivated by the race or religion of the victims. "The racist nature of this double crime is beyond doubt, given the hateful remarks made by the killer," said SOS Racisme, an anti-discrimination NGO. "This tragedy echoes a series of racist crimes that have occurred in recent months," it said, denouncing a "poisonous climate" in the country including the "trivialisation of racist rhetoric". Aboubakar Cisse of Mali was stabbed dozens of times while attending prayers at the mosque in the southern French town of La Grand-Combe on April 25th. A French national of Bosnian origin accused of carrying out the attack surrendered to Italian authorities after three days on the run. Italy then extradited him to France to face justice. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau was bitterly criticised for never travelling to the scene of that crime to show solidarity, while PNAT anti-terror prosecutors also came under fire for not taking over the case and instead leaving it to regular criminal prosecutors.
The Advertiser
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Tunisian national shot dead by neighbour in France
A Tunisian national has been shot dead by his neighbour in southern France, a prosecutor says, adding the incident is being investigated as a racially-motivated crime. The victim, who was said to be "possibly 35", but has not been officially identified, was killed in the town of Puget-sur-Argens on Saturday night A 25-year-old Turkish national was also shot in the hand by the man and taken to hospital. The shooting comes one month after the fatal stabbing of Aboubakar Cisse, a 22-year-old man from Mali, in a mosque in the southern town of La Grand-Combe, amid rising racism in France. Last year French police recorded an 11 per cent rise in racist, xenophobic or anti-religious crimes, according to official data published in March. In a statement, the prosecutor said the suspect was a 53-year-old who practises sports shooting. He had published hateful and racist content on his social media account before and after killing his neighbour, the prosecutor added. France has the largest Muslim population in Europe, numbering more than six million and making up about 10 per cent of its population. Politicians across the political spectrum, including President Emmanuel Macron, have attacked what they describe as Islamist separatism in a way that rights groups have said stigmatises Muslims and amounts to discrimination. A Tunisian national has been shot dead by his neighbour in southern France, a prosecutor says, adding the incident is being investigated as a racially-motivated crime. The victim, who was said to be "possibly 35", but has not been officially identified, was killed in the town of Puget-sur-Argens on Saturday night A 25-year-old Turkish national was also shot in the hand by the man and taken to hospital. The shooting comes one month after the fatal stabbing of Aboubakar Cisse, a 22-year-old man from Mali, in a mosque in the southern town of La Grand-Combe, amid rising racism in France. Last year French police recorded an 11 per cent rise in racist, xenophobic or anti-religious crimes, according to official data published in March. In a statement, the prosecutor said the suspect was a 53-year-old who practises sports shooting. He had published hateful and racist content on his social media account before and after killing his neighbour, the prosecutor added. France has the largest Muslim population in Europe, numbering more than six million and making up about 10 per cent of its population. Politicians across the political spectrum, including President Emmanuel Macron, have attacked what they describe as Islamist separatism in a way that rights groups have said stigmatises Muslims and amounts to discrimination. A Tunisian national has been shot dead by his neighbour in southern France, a prosecutor says, adding the incident is being investigated as a racially-motivated crime. The victim, who was said to be "possibly 35", but has not been officially identified, was killed in the town of Puget-sur-Argens on Saturday night A 25-year-old Turkish national was also shot in the hand by the man and taken to hospital. The shooting comes one month after the fatal stabbing of Aboubakar Cisse, a 22-year-old man from Mali, in a mosque in the southern town of La Grand-Combe, amid rising racism in France. Last year French police recorded an 11 per cent rise in racist, xenophobic or anti-religious crimes, according to official data published in March. In a statement, the prosecutor said the suspect was a 53-year-old who practises sports shooting. He had published hateful and racist content on his social media account before and after killing his neighbour, the prosecutor added. France has the largest Muslim population in Europe, numbering more than six million and making up about 10 per cent of its population. Politicians across the political spectrum, including President Emmanuel Macron, have attacked what they describe as Islamist separatism in a way that rights groups have said stigmatises Muslims and amounts to discrimination. A Tunisian national has been shot dead by his neighbour in southern France, a prosecutor says, adding the incident is being investigated as a racially-motivated crime. The victim, who was said to be "possibly 35", but has not been officially identified, was killed in the town of Puget-sur-Argens on Saturday night A 25-year-old Turkish national was also shot in the hand by the man and taken to hospital. The shooting comes one month after the fatal stabbing of Aboubakar Cisse, a 22-year-old man from Mali, in a mosque in the southern town of La Grand-Combe, amid rising racism in France. Last year French police recorded an 11 per cent rise in racist, xenophobic or anti-religious crimes, according to official data published in March. In a statement, the prosecutor said the suspect was a 53-year-old who practises sports shooting. He had published hateful and racist content on his social media account before and after killing his neighbour, the prosecutor added. France has the largest Muslim population in Europe, numbering more than six million and making up about 10 per cent of its population. Politicians across the political spectrum, including President Emmanuel Macron, have attacked what they describe as Islamist separatism in a way that rights groups have said stigmatises Muslims and amounts to discrimination.
The Sun
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Tunisian national shot dead by neighbour in the south of France
PARIS: A Tunisian national was shot dead by his neighbour in the south of France, the prosecutor in the Draguignan commune said in a statement, adding that the incident was being investigated as a racially motivated crime. The victim, who was said to be 'possibly 35' but has not been officially identified, was killed late on Saturday in the town of Puget-sur-Argens. A 25-year-old Turkish national was also shot in the hand by the man and taken to hospital. The incident comes one month after the fatal stabbing of Aboubakar Cisse, a 22-year-old man from Mali, in a mosque in the southern town of La Grand-Combe, amid rising racism in France. France's interior minister Bruno Retailleau, in a post on X on Monday, said that 'racism must be severely punished' and that the shooting was 'intolerable.' Retailleau's critics said that his declarations on migration and Islam had contributed towards rising levels of hate crime. Last year, French police recorded an 11% rise in racist, xenophobic or anti-religious crimes, according to official data published in March. In a statement late on Sunday, the prosecutor said the suspect in the weekend shooting was a 53-year-old who practises sports shooting. He had published hateful and racist content on his social media account before and after killing his neighbour, the prosecutor added. France has the largest Muslim population in Europe, numbering more than 6 million and making up about 10% of the country's population. Politicians across the political spectrum, including President Emmanuel Macron, have attacked what they describe as Islamist separatism in a way that rights groups have said stigmatises Muslims and amounts to discrimination.
Asharq Al-Awsat
4 days ago
- General
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Tunisian National Shot Dead by Neighbor in the South of France
A Tunisian national was shot dead by his neighbor in the south of France, the Draguignan prosecutor said in a statement, adding that the incident was being investigated as a racially-motivated crime. The victim, who was said to be "possibly 35", but has not been officially identified, was killed late on Saturday night in the town of Puget-sur-Argens. A 25-year-old Turkish national was also shot in the hand by the man and taken to hospital. The incident comes one month after the fatal stabbing of Aboubakar Cisse, a 22-year-old man from Mali, in a mosque in the southern town of La Grand-Combe, amid rising racism in France. Last year French police recorded an 11% rise in racist, xenophobic or anti-religious crimes, according to official data published in March. In a statement released late on Sunday, the prosecutor said the suspect in the weekend shooting was a 53-year-old who practices sports shooting. He had published hateful and racist content on his social media account before and after killing his neighbor, the prosecutor added. France has the largest Muslim population in Europe, numbering more than 6 million and making up about 10% of the country's population. Politicians across the political spectrum, including President Emmanuel Macron, have attacked what they describe as Islamist separatism in a way that rights groups have said stigmatizes Muslims and amounts to discrimination.
