Killer told judges: ‘I’m not an extremist’

THE terrorist who murdered the priest in Normandy had told judges: “I am not an extremist” before being freed, it was revealed today.

Ad e l Ke r mi c h e , 1 9, c o nv i n c e d authorities that he was “aware of his mistakes” just months before he was released from jail with an electronic tag. Father Jacques Hamel, 86, was forced to kneel at the altar before his throat was cut at his church in SaintEtienne-du-Rouvray, near Rouen.

Both Kermiche and his unidentified accomplice were then shot dead by police as they tried to leave, using two nuns and two parishioners as shields. Details of the manner of Kermi c h e ’s re l e a s e c a me a s p o l i c e warned the UK’s Christian community to review security.

The attack in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray sent shock waves through a nation already reeling from the murder of 84 people in Nice on July 14, when a terrorist drove a lorry into crowds enjoying Bastille Day fire - works, as well as earlier atrocities in Paris. Kermiche was released in March after serving part of his sentence for a range of terrorist offences including trying to join Islamic State in Syria. A psychological examination was carried out between October 2015 and February this year, during which he spoke freely about his motives and ambitions. He outlined his frail psychological state, saying he was regularly in hospital after suffering deep depressions and “other mental problems”.

Kermiche said: “I am a Muslim grounded in the values of mercy, and goodness… I am not an extremist.”

He claimed he wanted to become a mental health nurse, and settle down with a family. “I want to get my life back, to see my friends, to get mar- ried,” Kermiche told an examining magi s t r a t e in t he ps yc hol o g i c a l reports leaked to Le Monde newspaper. He spent his time in prison mixing with other terrorists, including another young Frenchman who had spent 18 months fighting with IS.

Despite this, he managed to convince those compiling the report that he should be given yet another chance. The judge overseeing Kermiche’s case, said he was “aware of his mistakes”, and despite “suicidal thoughts”, was a good candidate to be re-integrated back into society.

He could be freed on probation with the “supervision and support” of his family in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, and wearing an electronic tag, the judge concluded.

Prosecutors appealed against the decision, saying they were “unconvinced by the arguments”, and that there was a high risk of Kermiche reoffending. He was even allowed a four-hour period from 8.30am every day when he could leave his parents’ home and wander freely around his home town. It was during this window that he and his accomplice carried out the atrocity.