Suspect in brutal torture and murder of Parisian Jew hands himself over.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFHalimi protest 298.88(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
A key suspect in the brutal slaying of a young Jewish man in France has turned himself in to police, judicial officials said Tuesday.
The man, whose name was not released, was fingered by other members of a gang accused in the kidnapping, torture and killing of Ilan Halimi earlier this year. Halimi's murder revived concerns about anti-Semitism in France.
The suspect turned himself in to police in Bobigny, northeast of Paris, the officials said.
The chief suspect in the case, Youssouf Fofana, said the man was responsible for killing Halimi, the officials said. Other gang members have told investigators that Fofana was responsible.
Fofana, who is under investigation in the killing, acknowledged that he led the gang suspected in the case, but gave no explanation for the man's death and said he had no anti-Semitic motives.
Authorities found 23-year-old Halimi naked, handcuffed and covered with burn marks near railroad tracks in the Essonne region south of Paris on Feb. 13. He died on the way to the hospital after being held captive for more than three weeks.
Critics accused police of initially ignoring anti-Semitic motives in the crime, which caught the attention of top government officials and prompted fear of renewed anti-Semitism in France.
French police have detained 19 people in the investigation, including Fofana.
