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| France Debates Self-Defense as Robbery Victim Faces Murder Charge | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| PARIS — Early on the morning of Sept. 11, a 67-year-old jeweler in Nice, France, raised his unlicensed semiautomatic pistol and shot a teenager in the back as he and an accomplice sped away on a motor scooter with gems they had stolen at gunpoint, prosecutors said. The body of the youth, Anthony Asli, 19, was discovered on a nearby street lined with small grocery markets; the jeweler, Stephan Turk, was arrested last week and charged with murder. | PARIS — Early on the morning of Sept. 11, a 67-year-old jeweler in Nice, France, raised his unlicensed semiautomatic pistol and shot a teenager in the back as he and an accomplice sped away on a motor scooter with gems they had stolen at gunpoint, prosecutors said. The body of the youth, Anthony Asli, 19, was discovered on a nearby street lined with small grocery markets; the jeweler, Stephan Turk, was arrested last week and charged with murder. |
| The case has set off a national debate in France about how to define self-defense, and about the decision to charge Mr. Turk. Many have rallied behind the jeweler, lauding him as a hero who was protecting his life and property, while others have accused him of being a reckless and unfeeling vigilante. | The case has set off a national debate in France about how to define self-defense, and about the decision to charge Mr. Turk. Many have rallied behind the jeweler, lauding him as a hero who was protecting his life and property, while others have accused him of being a reckless and unfeeling vigilante. |
| The far-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen said he “would have done the same” as Mr. Turk, and a Facebook page created to support Mr. Turk by an anonymous author has attracted about 1.6 million “likes” — a figure so high that some social-network experts have challenged its veracity. | The far-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen said he “would have done the same” as Mr. Turk, and a Facebook page created to support Mr. Turk by an anonymous author has attracted about 1.6 million “likes” — a figure so high that some social-network experts have challenged its veracity. |
| At first Mr. Turk was held in police custody, but after a public outcry, he was moved to an undisclosed location under house arrest, wearing an ankle monitor. Mr. Asli’s sister, Alexandra Asli, said Mr. Turk deserved prison for shooting her brother in the back. Mr. Asli’s father said his son had been shot “like a pigeon.” | At first Mr. Turk was held in police custody, but after a public outcry, he was moved to an undisclosed location under house arrest, wearing an ankle monitor. Mr. Asli’s sister, Alexandra Asli, said Mr. Turk deserved prison for shooting her brother in the back. Mr. Asli’s father said his son had been shot “like a pigeon.” |
| The killing has also prompted a loud national discussion about rising crime rates. | The killing has also prompted a loud national discussion about rising crime rates. |
| While gun violence in France is relatively rare, thefts are on the rise, and commentators and lawyers said Mr. Turk had become a potent symbol for French people frustrated with being robbed. According to data from the National Observatory on Delinquency, which monitors crime, there is one theft every 90 seconds on average in France, and petty crimes like purse snatching have jumped 17 percent compared with last year. | While gun violence in France is relatively rare, thefts are on the rise, and commentators and lawyers said Mr. Turk had become a potent symbol for French people frustrated with being robbed. According to data from the National Observatory on Delinquency, which monitors crime, there is one theft every 90 seconds on average in France, and petty crimes like purse snatching have jumped 17 percent compared with last year. |
| The narrative embraced by Mr. Turk’s supporters pits Mr. Asli, a onetime horticulture student with a love of motorcycles and a string of previous convictions for assault, theft and driving offenses, against Mr. Turk, a prosperous business owner in a city where 400 jewelry robberies occurred last year. | The narrative embraced by Mr. Turk’s supporters pits Mr. Asli, a onetime horticulture student with a love of motorcycles and a string of previous convictions for assault, theft and driving offenses, against Mr. Turk, a prosperous business owner in a city where 400 jewelry robberies occurred last year. |
| Under French law, a person who kills in self-defense when threatened with imminent bodily harm is not guilty of murder. But prosecutors said Mr. Turk would have a hard time proving that he had been fighting for his life because Mr. Asli was shot in the back. Mr. Turk may instead be convicted of manslaughter, which would carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. | Under French law, a person who kills in self-defense when threatened with imminent bodily harm is not guilty of murder. But prosecutors said Mr. Turk would have a hard time proving that he had been fighting for his life because Mr. Asli was shot in the back. Mr. Turk may instead be convicted of manslaughter, which would carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. |
| Eric Morain, an expert on criminal law in Paris who defends people in self-defense cases, said the Nice case had spurred a national reflex of empathy for Mr. Turk, whom many saw as the underdog because he was the victim of a crime before he shot Mr. Asli. | Eric Morain, an expert on criminal law in Paris who defends people in self-defense cases, said the Nice case had spurred a national reflex of empathy for Mr. Turk, whom many saw as the underdog because he was the victim of a crime before he shot Mr. Asli. |
| “The case has created a passionate debate and split the country in two, as many people identify with Mr. Turk,” Mr. Morain said. | “The case has created a passionate debate and split the country in two, as many people identify with Mr. Turk,” Mr. Morain said. |
| After the left-wing newspaper Libération lamented on Monday that the support on Facebook for Mr. Turk was “worrying” and “unprecedented,” a reader using the name Rantamplan insisted that the wellspring of admiration for Mr. Turk showed that France was dominated by reactionary right-wingers. “Some people feel that property is worth more than a life,” the reader wrote online in the comments section. | After the left-wing newspaper Libération lamented on Monday that the support on Facebook for Mr. Turk was “worrying” and “unprecedented,” a reader using the name Rantamplan insisted that the wellspring of admiration for Mr. Turk showed that France was dominated by reactionary right-wingers. “Some people feel that property is worth more than a life,” the reader wrote online in the comments section. |
| Eric Bedos, a Nice prosecutor, told reporters that Mr. Turk was held up at gunpoint by two young men as he opened for business on Sept. 11, and that security-camera video showed him being punched and kicked, and then opening his safe. | Eric Bedos, a Nice prosecutor, told reporters that Mr. Turk was held up at gunpoint by two young men as he opened for business on Sept. 11, and that security-camera video showed him being punched and kicked, and then opening his safe. |
| In a statement to French television after he was charged on Friday, Mr. Turk said of Mr. Asli: “I regret what happened; I regret that he is dead. But he decided to do what he did. It is normal that I would defend myself.” | In a statement to French television after he was charged on Friday, Mr. Turk said of Mr. Asli: “I regret what happened; I regret that he is dead. But he decided to do what he did. It is normal that I would defend myself.” |
| French news reports said that Mr. Asli, who was brought up in Carros, a village in southeastern France, had a long record of arrests and convictions and had most recently left prison in April. | French news reports said that Mr. Asli, who was brought up in Carros, a village in southeastern France, had a long record of arrests and convictions and had most recently left prison in April. |
| Even so, the father of Mr. Asli said, he did not deserve what happened to him, the newspaper Nice-Matin reported. “He was a little delinquent, a scooter thief,” the newspaper quoted the father as saying. “But he had the face of a child, and no child should have to die like that.” | Even so, the father of Mr. Asli said, he did not deserve what happened to him, the newspaper Nice-Matin reported. “He was a little delinquent, a scooter thief,” the newspaper quoted the father as saying. “But he had the face of a child, and no child should have to die like that.” |
| The charges against Mr. Turk tapped a spring of anger in Nice, where jewelers closed their stores for 15 minutes on Monday and hundreds of people gathered in one of the city’s main squares to protest. The French interior minister, Manuel Valls, visited the city on Tuesday. | The charges against Mr. Turk tapped a spring of anger in Nice, where jewelers closed their stores for 15 minutes on Monday and hundreds of people gathered in one of the city’s main squares to protest. The French interior minister, Manuel Valls, visited the city on Tuesday. |
| President François Hollande said in an interview on the French channel TF1 on Sunday that he recognized the “exasperation and anger” in the case, but that “it’s up to the justice system to do justice, and no one else.” | President François Hollande said in an interview on the French channel TF1 on Sunday that he recognized the “exasperation and anger” in the case, but that “it’s up to the justice system to do justice, and no one else.” |
Aurelien Breeden contributed reporting. | Aurelien Breeden contributed reporting. |