News Agencies – September 10, 2012
French judges grilled the brother of Mohammed Merah, the al Qaeda-inspired terrorist who carried out a series of deadly shootings in Toulouse last March. Abdelkader Merah has denied being complicit in his brother’s deadly acts and has told judges he had no part in the series of deadly shootings that claimed lives of seven people in Toulouse earlier this year.
Abdelkader Merah, 29, faced lengthy questioning by specialist anti-terrorist judges for the first time on Monday. His 23-year-old sibling was behind the cold-blooded killing of three Jewish children, a Rabbi and three soldiers in and around the southwestern city of Toulouse in March this year.
Abdelkader has been held in custody since the killings on suspicion of complicity in terrorism, murder and theft. He is currently the only suspect in custody for an alleged role in the murders. His lawyer, Eric Dupond-Moretti, rejected the accusations, saying his client “absolutely contests the charge of complicity to murder, which is not based on any objective element.”
According to a police source in March, Abdelkader admitted to being present on March 6 when his younger brother stole the scooter used in all of the attacks, but claimed he did not realise it was to be used to carry out a shooting spree. He was also grilled over his extreme religious beliefs.
