Israeli consul in France
ISIS decapitation clips sent to Israeli consul in France
19-year-old Muslim suspect arrested last week for allegedly emailing threatening videos to Marseilles consul and Jewish French MP.
A specialized anti-terror unit in Paris arrested a 19-year-old Muslim high school student for allegedly threatening the lives of Israeli consul in Marseilles, Barnea Hassid, and Jewish parliamentarian Meir Haviv.
He was arrested last week; his lawyer said he was confused and had lately read significant amounts of material on Islamic Jihad and al-Qaeda. "He is questioning himself. He is now in a period of his life in which provocative behavior is emphasized," she said.
The French police released only the suspect's first name, "Amin."
Amin sent an email to Hassid and Haviv containing videos of Islamic State militants showing off severed heads. Amin wrote in the emails "messages that point to a similar fate for the Israeli diplomat and the Jewish member of parliament."
Netanyahu with French MP Haviv (Photo: GPO)
The suspect's family said it was shocked and that Amin did not intended to hurt the two people named. The youth was interrogated by police for three days and was remanded last Thursday on house arrest until the commencement of his trial, scheduled for April 2.
If convicted, he will face up to five years imprisonment.
Israeli consul in Marseilles Hassid
French MP Haviv is well-known for his anti-jihadist positions and his support for the State of Israel.
David Kaminsky, Haviv's lawyer, said they turned to the authorities for help after the threats appeared. "We called on them at the end of 2014 and against at the end of January 2015. The case was transferred to the anti-terror unit."
According to Kaminsky, the threats on the lives of Haviv and Hassid were concrete and specific. Since Operation Protective Edge, MP Haviv was provided with a security detail – which was recently reinforced.
Haviv announced that the incident involved acts which threatened the values of the French Republic and that even those who hide behind a computer screen to send threats will not escape. Haviv noted that he received dozens of threatening emails and letters.
"I am not afraid, I automatically pass all these threats on to the police," he said.
The suspect detained was not known to security forces. The French media reported that the case did not appear to involve terrorism, but that the police was taking no risks after the events at satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and the Parisian kosher supermarket.
