Latest news with #Islamics
LeMonde
4 days ago
- LeMonde
Charged with the murder of Tunisian national Hichem Miraoui in southern France, Christophe Belgembe denies any racist motive
Christophe Belgembe, the suspect in the murder of Tunisian national Hichem Miraoui on May 31 in the southern French town Puget-sur-Argens, was charged on Thursday, June 5, with "murder and attempted murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise, motivated by race, ethnicity, nationality or religion." This judicial investigation is the 20 th opened by the French National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office (PNAT) since 2017 for acts inspired by far-right ideology, most of which were foiled attack plots. However, this is the first time an actual attack – in this case a murder – linked to this ideology has been treated as a terrorist act. In a statement released on Thursday, the PNAT said that Belgembe, 53, had admitted to the facts while in police custody. Married, without children and unemployed, he nevertheless denied "any racist motivation" as well as "any terrorist intent." But the PNAT noted that prior to his deadly rampage, he had posted a video on Facebook where he declared: "French people (...) wake up, go find them where they are," pledged "allegiance to the blue, white and red," and announced his intention to say "stop to Islamics" and to "take out a few, just by leaving my house, all the undocumented [migrants]."
LeMonde
6 days ago
- General
- LeMonde
Racist attack in southern France: 'Muslims do not feel as protected as other citizens'
According to French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, this was a "racist" crime with a "terrorist dimension." On the evening of Saturday, May 31, Hichem Miraoui, a 46-year-old Tunisian hairdresser, was shot and killed in Puget-sur-Argens, southern France, by his neighbor, Christophe B., 53. Christophe B. claimed responsibility for the act in several videos posted on Facebook. In these messages, he called on "the fucking French" to "wake up" and say "stop, stop to those fucking Islamics." "Grow a pair, go find them where they are," he added. Christophe B. targeted those he called "bicot," a racial slur for North Africans, "illegal immigrants," "lefties," and called on the government, "which is unable to protect us, to send them home." The national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office was called in – a first for a homicide inspired by far-right ideology. The Rhône Council of Mosques sounded the alarm in a statement released on Tuesday, saying that this crime reflected "a troubling and increasingly hostile climate toward citizens of Muslim faith in France." The atmosphere, according to essayist Hakim El Karoui, is being fueled by "frankly irresponsible politicians, who forget that the daily targeting of a segment of the population is dangerous, has serious consequences, and puts people at risk." El Karoui feared that "what we have long feared is happening: the shift of the far right to violence." He called for "all political leaders to recognize the effects of polarized debates."
