Brother of French jihadi who killed 7 escapes life term
PARIS — The older brother of a man who killed Jewish schoolchildren and paratroopers in southern France was convicted yesterday of having ties to a terrorist enterprise but found not guilty of complicity in his sibling's deadly attacks.
A Paris court sentenced Abdelkader Merah, 35, to 20 years in prison after a tense and emotional trial over the slayings his younger brother, Mohammed Merah, carried out in the Toulouse region in March 2012. The shootings marked the first of what became a wave of attacks in France perpetrated by homegrown Islamic extremists.
The trial was the only opportunity for families of the seven victims — three Jewish schoolchildren, a teacher and three paratroopers — to seek public justice. Days after his deadly rampage, Mohammed Merah, 23, was killed by France's police special forces after a 32-hour standoff.
The younger Merah trained with al-Qaida-linked extremists in Pakistan. During his standoff with the elite police unit, he spoke with an intelligence negotiator and claimed to have acted on behalf of the al-Qaida group.
Abdelkader Merah was accused of radicalizing his younger brother, but always denied helping Mohammed plan or prepare for the fatal shootings he executed from a powerful motor scooter.
After eight hours of deliberations, the five professional magistrates who heard the case convicted Merah of a lesser crime — taking part in a criminal terrorist association with his brother and others.