ALGERIA: The father of a gunman who was killed during a siege by French forces after admitting to a shooting spree that left seven dead, says his son should have had his day in court

Record ID: 574075

  • Title: ALGERIA: The father of a gunman who was killed during a siege by French forces after admitting to a shooting spree that left seven dead, says his son should have had his day in court
  • Date: 29th March 2012
  • Summary: ALGIERS, ALGERIA (MARCH 27, 2012) (REUTERS) JOURNALISTS SURROUND CAR WAITING FOR MOHAMMED BIN ALLAAL MERAH, THE FATHER OF TOULOUSE GUNMAN MOHAMED MERAH / MOHAMMED BIN ALLAAL ARRIVING AT VEHICLE WITH FACE COVERED BY LARGE SHEET OF PAPER / BEING GUIDED INTO CAR / CAR DOOR SHUT AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS / CAR DRIVING OFF
  • Embargoed: 13th April 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Algeria, Algeria
  • Country: Algeria
  • Topics: Crime
  • Reuters ID: LVA1LDPH1NL36G56NQ5KDAOA0EZ5
  • Story Text: The father of an al Qaeda-inspired gunman shot dead by French police after shootings in southern France that left seven people dead, said on Tuesday that the French authorities should not have killed his son.
    Mohamed Merah, 23, a French citizen of Algerian origin, was killed by a police sniper as he jumped from the balcony of his lodgings, pistol firing, after a stand-off of more than 30 hours and a gunbattle inside his three-room apartment, according to official reports.
    "I shouted to my daughter Suaad, and asked if this report on Mohamed on the television was true or not, was it our Mohamed or someone else. She said it was true, and that the police might have arrested him but we didn't know. All I could see was that he was surrounded and I didn't know where he was. We kept watching the television until they started shooting and they announced he was killed and that was it," said Mohammed bin Allaal Merah, the gunman's father, speaking to reporters in the Algerian capital Algiers.
    "France has the capability in their capacity as a major country to take him alive through gas or something else so they can take him out alive. But we don't understand why they rushed matters and killed him, they could have taken him alive and sentenced him in a court. Then France could imprison him for a number of years or for life," he added.
    French media said the father wanted his son's body to be taken to Algeria for burial and that he also planned to take legal action against the French government over his son's death.
    French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he was "outraged".
    Four anti-terrorist judges are heading the investigation into France's worst attack by a radical Islamist in years and are probing Merah's elder brother, Abdelkader, as an accomplice.
    Abdelkader, 29 and already known to security services for having helped smuggle Jihadist militants into Iraq in 2007, will remain in jail for the duration of an inquiry that could last months before a decision on whether to send him to trial.
    Merah's father attempted to defend his son Mohamed by telling reporters that he was a devout Muslim despite the killing rampage.
    "My boy was good, he was a friendly person and used to read the Koran all the time, his Koran was always in his hand. At the time of prayers, he would go to the mosque as soon as the call to prayers (Azan) was called," he said.
    Merah amassed a cache of at least eight guns under the noses of French intelligence, including several Colt .45 pistols of the kind he used in the shootings, but also at least one Uzi submachine gun, a Sten gun and a pump action shotgun. Merah had visited Afghanistan twice in recent years and had a violent criminal record in France.
    Al Jazeera television said on Tuesday (March 27) it would not broadcast video footage of three deadly shootings filmed by Merah using a camera strapped to his body.
    The Qatar-based news network also said it was declining all requests from other media outlets for copies of the footage.
    The French government, and the CSA broadcast regulator, had urged television channels to refrain from running video clips that Merah told police he had filmed as he shot dead three Jewish children, a rabbi and three soldiers.
    France is still reeling from the gruesome nature of the attacks, which saw Merah grab one little girl by the hair as he shot her at point-blank range in one of three shooting sprees before he was killed by police last week.
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