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Bayonne mosque attack was terrorism, says survivors' lawyer
Source: The Guardian
Bayonne mosque attack was terrorism, says survivors' lawyer
Charges of attempted murder and arson but not terrorism are dismissed as ‘masquerade’
Angelique Chrisafis in Paris
@achrisafis
Thu 31 Oct 2019 16.28 GMT
Last modified on Thu 31 Oct 2019 16.57 GMT
A lawyer for two men who were injured in an attack on a mosque in south-west France this week has said the case should be treated as terrorism.
Méhana Mouhou, who represents two men aged 74 and 78 who were shot when they disturbed the suspect trying to set fire to the mosque in Bayonne, said: “This was a terrorist act.”
Claude Sinke, 84, a former far-right supporter, has been charged with attempted murder, arson and gun violence but not terrorism offences.
Mouhou said the charges were a “masquerade” and a result of “judiciary ineptitude”, and he has sought a meeting with the state prosecutor to push for the case to be reclassified.
He said: “There were preparatory acts in which he observed the mosque. His motives were clear. Everyone in his entourage says he was Islamophobic and racist. There was a gas canister, arms and targeting. So he was perfectly aware of what he was doing.”
-snip-
Charges of attempted murder and arson but not terrorism are dismissed as ‘masquerade’
Angelique Chrisafis in Paris
@achrisafis
Thu 31 Oct 2019 16.28 GMT
Last modified on Thu 31 Oct 2019 16.57 GMT
A lawyer for two men who were injured in an attack on a mosque in south-west France this week has said the case should be treated as terrorism.
Méhana Mouhou, who represents two men aged 74 and 78 who were shot when they disturbed the suspect trying to set fire to the mosque in Bayonne, said: “This was a terrorist act.”
Claude Sinke, 84, a former far-right supporter, has been charged with attempted murder, arson and gun violence but not terrorism offences.
Mouhou said the charges were a “masquerade” and a result of “judiciary ineptitude”, and he has sought a meeting with the state prosecutor to push for the case to be reclassified.
He said: “There were preparatory acts in which he observed the mosque. His motives were clear. Everyone in his entourage says he was Islamophobic and racist. There was a gas canister, arms and targeting. So he was perfectly aware of what he was doing.”
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/31/bayonne-mosque-attack-was-terrorism-says-survivors-lawyer