Lawyer: French attacks suspect claimed innocence - The Associated Press

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Lawyer: French attacks suspect claimed innocenceBy SARAH DiLORENZO, Associated Press – 8 hours ago?

PARIS (AP) — An Algerian lawyer said Monday that she has evidence the young man accused of killing seven people in attacks on French soldiers and a Jewish school claimed his innocence to police. Separately, France announced it was expelling several foreign Islamist extremists on its soil.

Mohamed Merah, 23, was killed after a more than 30-hour standoff with police at his apartment in Toulouse after being identified as the suspect behind the killing spree last month. Authorities have said that during negotiations Merah claimed to have links to al-Qaida and confessed to the killings.

But Zahia Mokhtari, a lawyer for Merah's Algerian father, told BFM television on Monday that she had two identical videos of Merah that contradict the police narrative. "In these videos, he says, 'I am innocent. Why are you killing me? I didn't do anything,'" she said.

Mokhtari would not detail how she got the videos, saying she would reveal more on their origin once she files a lawsuit in French courts against the elite police force, RAID, that killed Merah.

Merah is alleged to have killed three paratroopers, a rabbi and three Jewish schoolchildren, attacks that put French authorities on edge. President Nicolas Sarkozy vowed a crackdown on foreign Islamist radicals, and the Interior Ministry said Monday that deportations are in progress.

An Algerian Islamist radical convicted for a role in 1994 attacks in Marrakech and said to have recently started linking up again with extremists was deported Monday along with an imam from Mali who preached anti-Semitism and the rejection of the West, the Interior Ministry said.

A Saudi imam who has systematically preached the need to isolate women among other things is to be forced home imminently. Efforts to deport two other people are in progress and more such actions can be expected "shortly," the statement said.

A police official with knowledge of the investigation into the Merah case cast doubt on the Algerian lawyer's claims about the videos Monday, noting that Merah led police to evidence that proved he was the perpetrator.

Prosecutors say Merah spoke at length with negotiators from the RAID force throughout the standoff while he was holed up in a Toulouse apartment.

During these conversations, authorities say, Merah told them where to find a video he took of the crime spree. Al-Jazeera television has said it received a copy of the video, which shows the deaths of three paratroopers, three Jewish children and a rabbi from the killer's point of view.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of police rules, added that Merah had toyed with police during the standoff, initially agreeing to surrender but later vowing to "die with his weapons in his hands."

Police have said that Merah said he had links to al-Qaida but have cast doubt on that claim. They are holding his brother on suspicion he helped to prepare the attacks and are looking for a possible third man who may also have been involved.

The killings have left France reeling, reviving worries about Islamist extremism and shaking up the French presidential campaign.

Associated Press writer Jamey Keaten contributed to this report.

Copyright ? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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Lawyer: French arrests misdirected

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Mohammed Merah killed seven people in a series of attacks.NEW: Lawyer: The Forsane Alizza group wants to protect the rights of Muslims in FranceThe Islamist group's leader says it had no contact with gunman Merah, his lawyer says19 suspected members of the Forsane Alizza group were arrested Friday, authorities saidPolice have been investigating whether Merah, blamed for 7 deaths, acted alone

Paris (CNN) -- The leader of an Islamist group whose members were targeted in a series of French police raids denies any contact with Toulouse gunman Mohammed Merah, lawyer Philippe Missamou said Saturday.

The leader of the Forsane Alizza group, Mohammed Achamlane, was among 19 people arrested Friday over alleged connections to radical Islam, Missamou said.

The raids came a week after Merah, who killed seven people in a series of attacks, was shot dead after a long siege in the southwestern city of Toulouse.

French media reports suggested Merah had developed connections with the pro-al Qaeda group, which has a cluster of followers in Toulouse.

Forsane Alizza was outlawed in January for encouraging French citizens to travel to Afghanistan to fight jihad.

Missamou told CNN he had last spoken to Achamlane on Monday.

At this time, Achamlane told him that the group had not had contact with Merah, and that it had nothing to do with Merah's killings in Toulouse, Missamou said.

Achamlane said the group did not support armed combat, the attorney said.

Missamou expects to be allowed to meet with members of the group, which he has represented since January, on Monday or Tuesday.

After that they will be put before a judge and either placed under further examination with charges pending, or released, he said.

Missamou disputed the Interior Ministry's claim that all 19 people arrested are members of Forsane Alizza, saying several were not.

Friday's arrests took place in Toulouse, Marseille, Nantes, Lyon and the Ile de France region, around Paris, the Interior Ministry said.

The ministry's media office said "the police had plans to carry out 19 arrests, and therefore 19 arrests were made in connection with the group Forsane Alizza."

Interior Minister Claude Gueant said that several firearms, including five rifles, four automatic weapons and three Kalashnikovs, had been found in searches of the suspects' homes, as well as a bulletproof vest.

Missamou said he had no information on the claims that firearms were found.

He also said he did not know know whether members of the group have spent time in Pakistan or Afghanistan.

The lawyer disputes the characterization of the group as dangerous, saying it works to contest perceived injustice on the part of the French state.

Its members claim that France does not recognize the multi-cultural, multi-racial and multi-religious nature of the country, and passes laws which target Muslims in France, he said.

Police have been investigating whether Merah acted alone in planning his attacks.

He is blamed for the killings of three French paratroopers, a rabbi and three Jewish children ages 4, 5 and 7. Two other people were seriously wounded in the shootings.

Merah told police he had attended an al Qaeda training camp while visiting Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to Paris prosecutor Francois Molins.

But his uncle, Jamal Azizi, denied statements by French authorities that Merah was an al Qaeda sympathizer and that he had traveled to Afghanistan or Pakistan to train to use arms.

Merah was buried Thursday at a cemetery outside Toulouse.

CNN's Anna Prichard contributed to this report.

updated 9:12 AM EDT, Fri March 23, 2012 Did French intelligence services miss vital clues as Mohammed Merah showed signs of growing radicalization? updated 12:11 PM EDT, Thu March 22, 2012 The Toulouse shootings refocus fears on trained attackers who are determined, living legally in the West and operating alone.updated 7:38 AM EDT, Thu March 22, 2012 'Lone wolves' who plot to carry out small-scale attacks on soft targets could be the future of terrorism, a security expert warns.updated 10:32 AM EDT, Fri March 23, 2012 Mohammed Merah, described as a self-styled al Qaeda jihadist, was named as the chief suspect in a series of deadly shootings.updated 12:08 PM EDT, Thu March 22, 2012 CNN examines whether the handling of the crisis will have a bearing on the presidential poll.updated 6:30 PM EDT, Tue March 20, 2012 In the pink-hued streets of Toulouse, France's "Ville Rose," flags are flying at half-mast: The city is in mourning -- and shock. updated 12:08 AM EDT, Tue March 20, 2012 The city of Toulouse is at the highest security alert level, after a teacher and three children were gunned down at a Jewish school.updated 7:51 PM EDT, Mon March 19, 2012 Agnes Poirier, a political commentator, talks about the disbelief in France after the deadly drive-by shooting at a school in Toulouse.updated 6:06 AM EDT, Thu March 22, 2012 Out of nowhere a gunman appeared in the courtyard of a Jewish school in the French city just as students were arriving for morning classes.Most popular stories right now

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Lawyer: French Islamist group had no link with Toulouse gunman - CNN

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Mohammed Merah killed seven people in a series of attacks.NEW: Lawyer: The Forsane Alizza group wants to protect the rights of Muslims in FranceThe Islamist group's leader says it had no contact with gunman Merah, his lawyer says19 suspected members of the Forsane Alizza group were arrested Friday, authorities saidPolice have been investigating whether Merah, blamed for 7 deaths, acted alone

Paris (CNN) -- The leader of an Islamist group whose members were targeted in a series of French police raids denies any contact with Toulouse gunman Mohammed Merah, lawyer Philippe Missamou said Saturday.

The leader of the Forsane Alizza group, Mohammed Achamlane, was among 19 people arrested Friday over alleged connections to radical Islam, Missamou said.

The raids came a week after Merah, who killed seven people in a series of attacks, was shot dead after a long siege in the southwestern city of Toulouse.

French media reports suggested Merah had developed connections with the pro-al Qaeda group, which has a cluster of followers in Toulouse.

Forsane Alizza was outlawed in January for encouraging French citizens to travel to Afghanistan to fight jihad.

Missamou told CNN he had last spoken to Achamlane on Monday.

At this time, Achamlane told him that the group had not had contact with Merah, and that it had nothing to do with Merah's killings in Toulouse, Missamou said.

Achamlane said the group did not support armed combat, the attorney said.

Missamou expects to be allowed to meet with members of the group, which he has represented since January, on Monday or Tuesday.

After that they will be put before a judge and either placed under further examination with charges pending, or released, he said.

Missamou disputed the Interior Ministry's claim that all 19 people arrested are members of Forsane Alizza, saying several were not.

Friday's arrests took place in Toulouse, Marseille, Nantes, Lyon and the Ile de France region, around Paris, the Interior Ministry said.

The ministry's media office said "the police had plans to carry out 19 arrests, and therefore 19 arrests were made in connection with the group Forsane Alizza."

Interior Minister Claude Gueant said that several firearms, including five rifles, four automatic weapons and three Kalashnikovs, had been found in searches of the suspects' homes, as well as a bulletproof vest.

Missamou said he had no information on the claims that firearms were found.

He also said he did not know know whether members of the group have spent time in Pakistan or Afghanistan.

The lawyer disputes the characterization of the group as dangerous, saying it works to contest perceived injustice on the part of the French state.

Its members claim that France does not recognize the multi-cultural, multi-racial and multi-religious nature of the country, and passes laws which target Muslims in France, he said.

Police have been investigating whether Merah acted alone in planning his attacks.

He is blamed for the killings of three French paratroopers, a rabbi and three Jewish children ages 4, 5 and 7. Two other people were seriously wounded in the shootings.

Merah told police he had attended an al Qaeda training camp while visiting Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to Paris prosecutor Francois Molins.

But his uncle, Jamal Azizi, denied statements by French authorities that Merah was an al Qaeda sympathizer and that he had traveled to Afghanistan or Pakistan to train to use arms.

Merah was buried Thursday at a cemetery outside Toulouse.

CNN's Anna Prichard contributed to this report.

updated 9:12 AM EDT, Fri March 23, 2012 Did French intelligence services miss vital clues as Mohammed Merah showed signs of growing radicalization? updated 12:11 PM EDT, Thu March 22, 2012 The Toulouse shootings refocus fears on trained attackers who are determined, living legally in the West and operating alone.updated 7:38 AM EDT, Thu March 22, 2012 'Lone wolves' who plot to carry out small-scale attacks on soft targets could be the future of terrorism, a security expert warns.updated 10:32 AM EDT, Fri March 23, 2012 Mohammed Merah, described as a self-styled al Qaeda jihadist, was named as the chief suspect in a series of deadly shootings.updated 12:08 PM EDT, Thu March 22, 2012 CNN examines whether the handling of the crisis will have a bearing on the presidential poll.updated 6:30 PM EDT, Tue March 20, 2012 In the pink-hued streets of Toulouse, France's "Ville Rose," flags are flying at half-mast: The city is in mourning -- and shock. updated 12:08 AM EDT, Tue March 20, 2012 The city of Toulouse is at the highest security alert level, after a teacher and three children were gunned down at a Jewish school.updated 7:51 PM EDT, Mon March 19, 2012 Agnes Poirier, a political commentator, talks about the disbelief in France after the deadly drive-by shooting at a school in Toulouse.updated 6:06 AM EDT, Thu March 22, 2012 Out of nowhere a gunman appeared in the courtyard of a Jewish school in the French city just as students were arriving for morning classes.Most popular stories right now

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