Pre-trial detention ordered for suspect in deliberate arson attack on synagogue in France

Aug. 29 () –

French authorities announced Wednesday that the man suspected of deliberately setting fire to a synagogue in southern France has been charged with attempted murder for religious reasons and has been remanded in custody.

The Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office, which has asked to charge an individual who drove the attacker to his home, has indicated that another man, a relative of the suspect, has also been charged and imprisoned as he is the one with whom “he appears to have shared his criminal plan”, as the French television channel BFM TV has been able to find out.

The main suspect, a 33-year-old Algerian national, “admitted the facts at his first hearing” and “explained that he had acted to support the Palestinian cause.” Although he denied “any murderous intent,” he admitted “having intended to cause fear.”

His intention was “to provoke a reaction from the Israeli authorities through his highly symbolic action,” the prosecutor said. The prosecutor said that he “has become radicalised in his religious practice for several months and has long harboured hatred towards Jews, particularly in relation to the situation in Palestine.”