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France Charges 4 Men Linked to Paris Gunman French Premier Announces ‘Exceptional’ Measures Against Terrorism
(about 3 hours later)
PARIS — France has formally charged and detained four men accused of providing logistical support to Amedy Coulibaly, one of the three gunmen involved in one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the country, the Paris prosecutor said on Wednesday. PARIS — Two weeks after one of the deadliest attacks ever to hit France, Prime Minister Manuel Valls announced “exceptional” measures on Wednesday to fight terrorism and reinforce a package of existing laws that are already considered to be among the strictest in Europe.
The prosecutor, François Molins, said at a news conference that the four men, ages 22 to 28, were being formally investigated on charges of a “terrorist conspiracy to commit crimes against people.” One was also accused of carrying weapons “in relation with an initiative to carry out terrorist acts.” Mr. Valls made his announcements at a news conference after France formally charged and detained four men accused of providing logistical support to Amedy Coulibaly, one of the three gunmen involved in the three-day onslaught.
The full names of the men, the first to be charged in the attacks in which 17 people were killed, were not released. François Molins, the Paris prosecutor, said at news conference that the four men, ages 22 to 28, were being formally investigated on charges of a “terrorist conspiracy to commit crimes against people.” One of them will face an additional charge of carrying weapons “in relation with an initiative to carry out terrorist acts.” The full names of the men, the first to be charged in the attacks in which 17 people were killed, were not released.
Mr. Molins described how three of the four suspects had bought equipment for Mr. Coulibaly, a 32-year-old Frenchman who fatally shot a police officer in a suburb south of Paris before taking several people hostage the next day at a kosher supermarket in Paris, killing four of them. Mr. Valls said that France would provide an additional 425 million euros, or more than $490 million, and create over 2,500 new jobs to buttress the fight against terrorism and monitor the approximately 3,000 people the police consider surveillance targets. A bill aimed at updating the legal framework for intelligence and surveillance operations would also be introduced in Parliament in March, Mr. Valls said.
Among other proposals, Mr. Valls said his government would create a website intended to combat “jihadist indoctrination” and increase the number of Muslim chaplains in French prisons. He also said he would create a specific database listing the names of those who have already been convicted on charges of terrorism or who were members of “a terrorist fighting group.” The existence of such a file would force them to “declare any change of address or any trip abroad,” Mr. Valls said.
Mr. Valls also said that his government would push for bipartisan discussion of a proposal backed by the opposition Union for a Popular Movement that would create a felony of “national indignity,” which could be applied to those who committed terrorist acts by stripping them of their civic and political rights.
French antiterror laws were reinforced recently, amid international concern about the threat posed by Europeans returning from training or combat in Syria.
Last year, the French Parliament passed legislation that created a new law that outlines penalties for actions of a terrorist nature by individuals. The law also made it easier for the authorities to block people believed to be Islamist extremists from leaving France, and authorized the Interior Ministry to void or confiscate the passports of people considered by the French intelligence services to be potential threats.
On Wednesday, Mr. Molins described how three of the four suspects had bought equipment for Mr. Coulibaly, a 32-year-old Frenchman who fatally shot a police officer in a suburb south of Paris before taking several people hostage the next day at a kosher supermarket in Paris, killing four of them.
Mr. Coulibaly was later killed by the police as they stormed the supermarket.Mr. Coulibaly was later killed by the police as they stormed the supermarket.
Mr. Molins said that three men he identified as “Willy P., Christophe R. and Tonino G.” went to buy tactical body armor, knives, Tasers and tear gas for Mr. Coulibaly last year. Mr. Molins said that three men he identified as “Willy P., Christophe R. and Tonino G.” went to buy tactical body armor, knives, Tasers and tear gases for Mr. Coulibaly last year.
“We think that there is a group of people who agreed to help within the context of an agreement, and all of that was useful to undertake a terrorist act,” Mr. Molins said.“We think that there is a group of people who agreed to help within the context of an agreement, and all of that was useful to undertake a terrorist act,” Mr. Molins said.
In a video posted online after his death, Mr. Coulibaly declared allegiance to the Islamic State militant group and urged young French Muslims to take up the fight.