12 April, 2006
Two key suspects in the brutal killing of a young Jewish man in France have turned themselves in to police, according to judicial officials quoted by the news agency AP. The men were fingered by other members of a gang accused in the kidnapping, torture and killing of Ilan Halimi earlier this year, which had sparked concerns about a rise in anti-Semitism in France. Authorities had found Halimi naked, handcuffed and covered with burn marks near railroad tracks in the Essonne region south of Paris on 13 February. He died on the way to the hospital after being held captive for more than three weeks. One suspect turned himself in Monday to police in Bobigny, northeast of Paris, a second to the criminal brigade in Paris, officials told AP. The two men are described as being close to the main suspect, Youssouf Fofana. Fofana acknowledged that he led the gang suspected in the case, but gave no explanation for the man's death and said he had no anti-Semitic motives. French police have arrested 18 people in the investigation, including Fofana.
