Paris Man 'Murdered Because He Was A Jew'

by Alex Sholem - Thursday 23rd February 2006

The family of a Parisian man killed by a kidnap gang has accused the police of denying the anti-semitic nature of the crime in a bid to prevent Muslim anger.

Ilan Halimi, 23, was found close to death at a train station on the outskirts of the French capital last week after going missing on 21 January.

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He was naked, gagged and handcuffed, and his body showed signs of the torture he endured during a three-week kidnap ordeal that began when he went on a date with a stranger.

Halimi was reported to be the fourth young Jew to have been targeted by the gang in a Jewish area of Paris and his family said the kidnappers recited verses of the Koran during ransom negotiations.

But the police, who arrested 13 members of the gang over the weekend after issuing a photofit of the woman accused of luring Halimi at his workplace, have expressed doubt that the plot was motivated by anti-semitism.

However, Halimi’s mother Ruth told Haaretz newspaper: “If Ilan hadn't been Jewish, he wouldn't have been murdered.

“We told them there were at least three attempts to abduct young Jews but they insisted the motive was purely criminal.”

His uncle added: “They're afraid to reignite the confrontation with the Muslims.”

The family said that the day after Halimi failed to return from the date, he phoned to tell them he had been kidnapped and to await an email. When it arrived, it showed him blindfolded with a handgun held to his head.

Over subsequent weeks, the gang negotiated with various members of Halimi’s family, eventually dropping their ransom demand from 400,000 euros (£274,000) to 5,000 euros (£3,400). But all contact between the two parties ceased about one week before he was discovered.

On Sunday, more than 1,000 members of Paris’s Jewish community demanded justice for Halimi in an impromptu demonstration outside the mobile phone shop where he worked.

A spokesman for Bnai Brith France said: “Despite the villainous character of this kidnapping, evidence suggests that it is also a racist and anti-Semitic crime. In fact, out of four such acts perpetrated by the same group, three of the victims were Jewish.

“Bnai Brith France has also asked that light be shed on this odious act and that the public be kept informed of the development of the investigation.”

French police have indicted three of the 13 people arrested in connection with the kidnap but are still hunting 26-year-old Youssef Fofana – the man they believe was the mastermind of the operation.

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