French Jewish murder trial opens

[Snoshi]

Twenty-seven people have gone on trial in Paris for the kidnapping and killing of a young Jewish man that shocked France three years ago.

A gang targeting Jews in ransom kidnappings has been blamed for the abduction and brutal torture of the victim, Ilan Halimi.

The alleged gang leader, Youssouf Fofana, shouted "God is great" in Arabic as he entered the courtroom.

The killing prompted large demonstrations against anti-Semitism.

Mr Halimi, 23, was kidnapped and brutally tortured for more than three weeks before he was found naked and tied to a tree near a railway track in the suburbs south of Paris.

He had been stabbed and set alight and he died on his way to hospital.

Youssouf Fofana, the leader of a Paris gang known as The Barbarians, is accused of carrying out the attack and faces life imprisonment if found guilty.

Mr Fofana entered the court wearing a white tracksuit. He looked at Mr Halimi's relatives, shouting "Allahu akbar".

When the judged asked the 28-year-old for his birthday, he said he was born on 13 February, 2006, in Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois - the date and place of Mr Halimi's death.

Youssouf Fofana is alleged to have instructed gang members to target Jews and to kidnap them until their families paid a ransom.

He has admitted all the charges, including entrapment and kidnapping but he denies stabbing Mr Halimi to death.

The other defendants have been indicted on lesser charges. As some of them were minors at the time of the crime, the judge excluded the public and the press for the remainder of the trial.

The victim, who worked in a mobile phone shop, was lured by a gang member to an empty apartment in the Parisian suburbs where he was attacked and drugged.

During his ordeal, his family were sent harrowing images and video recordings by his captors.

The then-President, Jacques Chirac, promised his parents a full investigation.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8023990.stm

[Mr Gently Benevolent]

Youssouf Fofana and some of his gang are going down for a long time and it looks like Fofana is trying to woo the radicals with his courtroom antics.

[mas-36]

Yeah, it might have shocked some people for a moment.. but I don't remember seeing rallies and marches, nor 'outrageous' speeches by people who aren't Jewish at most.
Most people just looked at it as just 'another' murder, of a Jew.


Oh for f** sake, did you actually read full post??

"The killing prompted large demonstrations against anti-Semitism."


There was plenty of outrage...did you simply choose to not give it any attention?

[Mr.K]

The whole story.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilan_Halimi

RIP Ilan, murdered by a buch of losers and lowlifes....

[juliannicholas]

Hope these savages are put are away for a long time

[Telmar]

RIP Ilan

I hope Youssouf and his pal are put in a tough cell. With psychos like them or in isolation their entire life. Scum of humanity...and I'm not even sure they fit in the category.

[LEGEND]

Will be curious to see their sentences, recently from the posts I've seen on this forum Europeans hand out jokes of a sentences for some heinous crimes.

[Ghostryder]

Twenty-seven people have gone on trial in Paris for the kidnapping and killing of a young Jewish man that shocked France three years ago.

Pussies.

12345678

[Mr.K]

Pussies.

12345678
thats the number of people involved , they didn't jump at him at the same time. Some people might go trough trial because they had a friend of a friend who knew the criminals.

[Karaahmetoglu]

Rest In Peace to Ilan.

[Difool]

Those sick people should be treated like they would be punished in their motherland.

[Mr Gently Benevolent]

Will be curious to see their sentences, recently from the posts I've seen on this forum Europeans hand out jokes of a sentences for some heinous crimes. Plenty of US forum members on here speak of the pissy little sentences criminals get over there and thats the only ones that make the press. :|

[Bitogno]

Fofanna will probably get life sentence with 22 years security ( which means he won't be able to ask for sentence reduction before 22 years ( and asking doesn't means he will have it anyway ) ).

[a_very_ex_STAB]

I hope these animals get a very hard time in jail. I hadn't heard about this case until I saw it in The Daily Telegraph today. I hope Fofana gets the Dhiren Bharot treatment while he's inside. He certainly deserves it.

[click]

Hope these savages are put are away for a long time

I hope they are put away permanently

[filochard]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8023990.stm
Mr Fofana entered the court wearing a white tracksuit. He looked at Mr Halimi's relatives, shouting "Allahu akbar".


look at those degenerates calling Allah's name. If I were Muslim I would get raelly pissed.


Yeah, it might have shocked some people for a moment.. but I don't remember seeing rallies and marches, nor 'outrageous' speeches by people who aren't Jewish at most.
Most people just looked at it as just 'another' murder, of a Jew.

Make your message clearer. Let me do it for you: that's because the french are so used to Jews murder. There is pogroms everyday, Jews's hunting is french favorite activity.
Isn't it better ?

[RoyB]

Make your message clearer. Let me do it for you: that's because the french are so used to Jews murder. There is pogroms everyday, Jews's hunting is french favorite activity.
Isn't it better ?
No.. but good job redoing my post to something it is not.
I'm just pissed because of the apathy the world has whenever a Jew/Israeli gets murdered/attacked/whatever.
Does it mean that I think the world is anti-Semitic? no.

[Bitogno]

No.. but good job redoing my post to something it is not.
I'm just pissed because of the apathy the world has whenever a Jew/Israeli gets murdered/attacked/whatever.
Does it mean that I think the world is anti-Semitic? no.

Apathy ? Are you aware of what's happening in the world ? In France each time a jew is assaulted we have demonstrations and politician talking about anti-semitism. We got these reactions even when enquiry showed that it had nothing to do with anti-semitism but fight between gang ( and in one case one of the assaulters was himself jewish ).
Apathy about people dying from starvation or war in Africa yes, but about jews assaulted come on give us a break.

[Mr Gently Benevolent]

No.. but good job redoing my post to something it is not.
I'm just pissed because of the apathy the world has whenever a Jew/Israeli gets murdered/attacked/whatever.
Does it mean that I think the world is anti-Semitic? no.Could be worse, you could be a black African.

[Player]

I hope the French judges will show NO MERCY to this scum.


Could be worse, you could be a black African.

Unfortunately that's so true...

[Bitogno]

I wonder how Fofana's attorney is going to defend him. Because assassination ( with in France means murder with premeditation ), with barbaric acts, anti-semitic acts. His case already done.

[xav]

^ He said yesterday "my client is already guilty in everybody's mind before anything even started. If he is the devil, then i'll be the devil's advocate, let it be that way"

[hsh2]

Sounds like Jacques Verges in that gardener murder affair yrs and yrs ago. "Il y a 200 cents ans, Dreyfus avait le tort d'etre juif. Aujourd'hui bla bla bla bla bla".

[Atlantic Friend]

I'm just pissed because of the apathy the world has whenever a Jew/Israeli gets murdered/attacked/whatever.

I'm not sure what you mean by "apathy", at least here. Investigation, news coverage, manhunt, arrest of the suspects, and now they're on trial. I can think of more apathetic reactions, actually.

Is there something else that should have been done and that hasn't ?

I hope it pisses you as much whenever any human being is killed/attacked/whatever, regardless of his creed or lack thereof.

[Atlantic Friend]

Sounds like Jacques Verges in that gardener murder affair yrs and yrs ago. "Il y a 200 cents ans, Dreyfus avait le tort d'etre juif. Aujourd'hui bla bla bla bla bla".

"Aujourd'hui, mon client a le tort de m'avoir pris pour avocat." ;)

Verges goes for all the high-profile, unwinnable cases. Should I ever find myself in a delicate position vis-à-vis the law, the last thing I want is getting a phone call from Vergès. Sounds like the death row already.

[hsh2]

"Aujourd'hui, mon client a le tort de m'avoir pris pour avocat." ;)


lol

But isn't this case high profile? I don't get french stations with my current dish orientation...

[Atlantic Friend]

lol

But isn't this case high profile? I don't get french stations with my current dish orientation...

It was a very high profile murder. You know how it is, once the suspect is arrested, media attention shifts elsewhere. The trial itself will probably get a lot more attention than other cases of murder with barbaric acts, though, else Vergès wouldn't be there.

He's the guy who defended Klaus Barbie, Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, that Moroccan gardener who was accused to have murdered his employer (you know, the "Omar m'a tuer" case). Vergès specializes in the unwinnable cases - the ones that allow him to scream about "gross miscarriages of justice" once the jury delivers its verdict.

[hsh2]

It was a very high profile murder. You know how it is, once the suspect is arrested, media attention shifts elsewhere. The trial itself will probably get a lot more attention than other cases of murder with barbaric acts, though, else Vergès wouldn't be there.

He's the guy who defended Klaus Barbie, Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, that Moroccan garden who was accused to have murdered his employer (you know, the "Omar m'a tuer" case). Vergès specializes in the unwinnable cases - the ones that allow him to scream about "gross miscarriages of justice" once the jury delivers its verdict.

Aha I see, I totally missed this murder to be honest, the last murder case i followed was the one with the Préfet what was his name again Erignac (?) and Colonna.

Add to that the case with a Khmer Rouge IIRC...Don't know if that went anywhere.

[Atlantic Friend]

With Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, the jury went even beyond what the Procureur had asked for and served him a life sentence. You get Vergès, you take your chances !

[NimDod]

I'm impressed that the French authorities snatched that bastard from the Ivory Coast so justice could be served.

[Mordoror]

In fact it is the Ivory Coast authorities who have that man to french police
I wonder what they got in exchange (if they got something at all) or if it was a good will show after the clash between the two countries

[Snoshi]

The leader of a Paris gang has been sentenced to life in prison in France for the torture and murder of a Jewish man, Ilam Halimi, in 2006.

Youssouf Fofana, 28, the only member of the Barbarians gang facing a murder charge, will serve at least 22 years.

Mr Halimi was held by the gang for more than three weeks before being found by a railway line. He was handcuffed to a tree, naked and severely burned.

His death prompted mass protests in France against anti-Semitism.

Prosecutors had asked for the maximum sentence for Fofana - the life sentence means he must serve a minimum of 22 years.

The Associated Press reported that he mimed applause when the verdict was given.

Another 26 people faced charges over involvement in the crime and received sentences ranging from six months to 18 years in prison.

Fofana's two main accomplices received sentences of 15 and 18 years respectively, while a young woman who lured Mr Halimi to his death was given nine years.

Two other defendants were acquitted.

Some of those charged were minors so the trial was heard behind closed door, against Mr Halimi's family's wishes.

Death threats

Mr Halimi, who worked in a mobile phone shop, was lured by a female gang member to an empty apartment in the Parisian suburbs in February 2006.

When he arrived, he was attacked and drugged.

The kidnappers tried unsuccessfully to extort a ransom of 450,000 euros ($600,000; £405,000) from his family, sending them harrowing images and video recordings.

Fofana, who is of Ivorian descent, is said to have targeted Mr Halimi because he believed that "Jews are loaded".

After the murder he fled to Ivory Coast, from where he is reported to have made death threats to Mr Halimi's family.

He was extradited to France in March 2006 to stand trial.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8145616.stm

[Mr.K]

More detail can be found here.

http://translate.google.com/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Ftempsreel.nouvelobs.com%2Factualites%2Fsociete%2F20090710.OBS3821%2Fyoussouf_fofana_est_condamne_a_la_prison_a_perpetuite.html%3Fidfx%3DRSS_societe%26xtor%3DRSS-25&sl=fr&tl=en&history_state0=

[LordKitchener]

Life sentence? He should have been sent to the firing squad along with his buddies.

[Parx400]

Life sentence? He should have been sent to the firing squad along with his buddies.

Too bad he didn't pull this **** in Texas.

[Connaught Ranger]

Life sentence? He should have been sent to the firing squad along with his buddies.

There is no death penalty in the E.U. countries :roll:

and outside the military years ago no firing squads for civilians.:roll:

[Mr.K]

Life sentence? He should have been sent to the firing squad along with his buddies.

And the families and relatives sent to a GULAG!p-)

Nouvel Observateur said that security measures had to be exemplary because some jewish extremists tried to attack the mother of the dumbass.

[Dronckaert]

Jewish groups and the family of Halimy are beggin for a new trial for the other members of that gang who they think have a too soft sentence. Fofana can't take a tougher sentence, if this would have happened in Texas, he'd have been shot on the spot.

Indeed the Ivory Coast police and goverment did a great job finding him when he left France to hide down in his own country. Criminal like these HAVE to be brought to justice even if they mock it and act arrogant, cold-blooded.

[Macs.]

if this would have happened in Texas, he'd have been shot on the spot.

What kind of bull**** saying is this ?

No he wouldn't have been shot on the spot in DURR DURR TEXAS DERPP DERP.

Jesus Christ. Texas has a working justice system, like any other part of the western world. :roll:

[Thugut]

What kind of bull**** saying is this ?

No he wouldn't have been shot on the spot in DURR DURR TEXAS DERPP DERP.

Jesus Christ. Texas has a working justice system, like any other part of the western world. :roll:

Quoted For Truth roflwoot

[Dronckaert]

What kind of bull**** saying is this ?

No he wouldn't have been shot on the spot in DURR DURR TEXAS DERPP DERP.

Jesus Christ. Texas has a working justice system, like any other part of the western world. :roll:

My point was... Fofana has been threatened, he's better in jail imo for his own security.

[little icebear]

Jesus Christ. Texas has a working justice system, like any other part of the western world. :roll:

Okay, now you´re exagerating a bit... p-)

BTW - did Achmed(inejad) the Fake President release a statement or is a dead jew in France less interesting than a dead muslim in Germany?

[Mr.K]

Okay, now you´re exagerating a bit... p-)

BTW - did Achmed(inejad) the Fake President release a statement or is a dead jew in France less interesting than a dead muslim in Germany?

I'd say a dead muslim is more imporant in Iran since the official religion is islam.
Just like the Ilan Halimi affair is much more imporant in Israel because he's jewish, (and he was even burried there) than the stabbed muslim woman.

Falme bait extingueshed.

[little icebear]

Falme bait extingueshed.

Nah... this is mp.net. For this place, the only flamebait was concerning justice in Texas. ;)

[Snoshi]

I'd say a dead muslim is more imporant in Iran since the official religion is islam.
Just like the Ilan Halimi affair is much more imporant in Israel because he's jewish, (and he was even burried there) than the stabbed muslim woman.

Falme bait extingueshed.

First of all Iranian population is majority Persian and most Iranians could care less about Arabs while other hate them with passion... 2nd, Iran muslims are Shia while this woman from Egypt was most likely Sunni.. so no..

[Holycrusader]

Okay, now you´re exagerating a bit... p-)

BTW - did Achmed(inejad) the Fake President release a statement or is a dead jew in France less interesting than a dead muslim in Germany?

Is Iran anyhow related to this thread?