Sarkozy: We wanted to bring terrorist to justice
French president praises police for operation that ended 32-hour Toulouse siege, stresses authorities didn't want to put anymore lives in danger
President Nicolas Sarkozy said Thursday that French authorities wanted to bring a terrorist who killed seven people to justice but not put anymore human lives in danger.
Speaking in a televised address after police shot dead Mohammed Merah, he once again expressed his sorrow over the deaths of the seven people Merah had murdered in Toulouse, a rabbi and three Jewish children killed near the Ozar Hatorah school on Monday, and three French paratroopers killed last week.
Related stories:
- Toulouse terrorist dies during police raid
- Netanyahu visits Sandler family
- Arab media conflicted over Toulouse
He said authorities were investigating whether Merah, a 24-year-old Frenchman of Algerian origin, acted alone in the shootings.
He added that France would make it a crime to consult Web sites that advocate terrorism or hate crimes and would toughen a crackdown on people who went abroad for ideological indoctrination.
Sarkozy in special TV address (Photo: AFP)
"From now on, any person who habitually consults Web sites that advocate terrorism or that call for hatred and violence will be criminally punished," Sarkozy said.
"France will not tolerate forced recruitment or ideological indoctrination on its soil," Sarkozy said, adding that an enquiry would be launched into whether prisons were being used to propagate extremism in France.
Mohammed Merah. Refused to surrender (Photo: Le Point)
Earlier, Sarkozy issued a statement where he praised French police for the operation that ended the deadly saga.
Merah died on Wednesday in a hail of bullets when he jumped from a window after elite police commandos entered the apartment where he was holed up following a siege of more than 30 hours.
Reuters and AFP contributed to this report
- Receive Ynetnews updates
directly to your desktop
