The main suspect confessed that the target of the attack was the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. The information was provided by a France Info source and confirmed by RTP.
Although the location of the current newsroom is secret, the 18 year old Pakistani boy chose this site because it is symbolic and because the drawings were republished who satirized the prophet Muhammad. Now the interrogation of the author continues.
A second suspect arrested on Friday at a metro station for suspected links to the crime has since been released. After checking all the evidence and hearing several people, the investigators concluded that the 33-year-old Algerian had only witnessed the attack.
The main suspect he arrived in France three years ago, as an unaccompanied minor, and was then turned over to Social Security. He lived in a state residence until August, when he came of age.
During the interrogation, the young man will have shown anger due to the republication of cartoons by Charlie Hebdo, according to the source consulted by RTP.
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Other sources linked to the investigation reported that this prime suspect, who claims to have been born in Pakistan, “took responsibility for his act, placing it in the context of the republication of caricatures [do profeta Maomé pelo jornal], something I couldn’t bear “.
“It was clearly an act of terrorism”
Almost six years after the attack that left 12 people dead in the Charlie Hedbo newsroom, the building where the newsroom was located, outside Paris, was once again the scene of an alleged attack.
The victims – a man and a woman -, who are not in danger of life, are two journalists from the television production company Premieres Lignes, who occupied Charlie Hebdo’s former offices in 2015 after the January attack. At that time, the Hebdo team emptied the offices and now works from a secret location.
This time, the main suspect – who has now admitted to the crime – is an 18-year-old man of Pakistani origin who was detained near the scene of the attack. Six other people connected to this young man were also detained for questioning. The stabbings occurred after the Charlie Hebdo newspaper republished cartoons with the prophet Muhammad.
“It was clearly an act of Islamist terrorism,” said French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, who also pointed out flaws in the security forces. The Government official believes that the police underestimated the level of threat in that area, at a time when the 2015 bombings were being tried.
The mayor of the police justified the decision not to strengthen security at the old newsroom on the grounds that there was no evidence of any concrete threat around the building.
However, the French National Anti-Terrorist Attorney’s Office (PNAT) opened an investigation, pointing out the location of the attack and the time when it occurred as key factors in the suspected terrorist act.
Increased security at synagogues
In an interview with France 2 on Friday night, the French Interior Minister described the stabbings as “a new bloody attack against our country, against journalists”.
“It was on the street where Charlie Hebdo’s newsroom used to be. This is how Islamic terrorists operate, ”he declared, adding that he had ordered reinforcing the presence of security forces at synagogues this weekend for Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.
Also according to Gérald Darmanin, the main suspect, aged 18, arrived in France three years ago as an “unaccompanied minor” of Pakistani nationality and although he was previously arrested for carrying a melee weapon, he was not recognized as a supporter of the self-proclaimed Islamic State.
The trials of the 14 people accused of helping two jihadists continue during the 2015 attack, which claimed 12 lives. To mark the start of the trials, Charlie Hebdo’s newsroom republished the cartoons that originated the fatal episode five years ago, which deserved a renewed threat from the extremist Al-Qaeda group.
The director of human resources for the satirical newspaper said this week she left her home after receiving death threats.
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