Algeria rejects burial of Toulouse gunman
- 12 years ago
Speaking from Toulouse, a spokesman for the Grand Mosque of Paris says the body of Mohamed Merah - the French gunman of Algerian origin who killed seven people, including children - will not be sent to Algeria for burial.
(SOUNDBITE) (French) ABDALLAH ZEKRI, AN OFFICIAL OF THE PARIS MOSQUE, SAYING:
"A request to transfer the body to Algeria had been issued. The town hall that received the request has said it is unwilling for reasons of security and the potential threat to public order. Because of this we're going to try and have a burial in France."
Merah was shot dead by a police sniper last week after a more than 30-hour siege at his home in Toulouse, following a spate of attacks in which he killed three soldiers, a rabbi, and three Jewish children.
Merah's father had wanted him buried in Algeria. But the killer's body looks set to be buried in the Muslim quarter of this cemetery in a suburb of Toulouse.
The body is at a morgue in Toulouse, and prosecutors are investigating his elder brother for possible complicity in the killings.
Nick Rowlands, Reuters.
(SOUNDBITE) (French) ABDALLAH ZEKRI, AN OFFICIAL OF THE PARIS MOSQUE, SAYING:
"A request to transfer the body to Algeria had been issued. The town hall that received the request has said it is unwilling for reasons of security and the potential threat to public order. Because of this we're going to try and have a burial in France."
Merah was shot dead by a police sniper last week after a more than 30-hour siege at his home in Toulouse, following a spate of attacks in which he killed three soldiers, a rabbi, and three Jewish children.
Merah's father had wanted him buried in Algeria. But the killer's body looks set to be buried in the Muslim quarter of this cemetery in a suburb of Toulouse.
The body is at a morgue in Toulouse, and prosecutors are investigating his elder brother for possible complicity in the killings.
Nick Rowlands, Reuters.