Who tried to assassinate an Orthodox priest in Lyon on Saturday, and for what reason?
The investigation tries to clarify several points since the attack, in a context of terrorism on the national territory, and against a background of politicization of the case.
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On Saturday October 31 at around 4 p.m., Nikolaos K., 52, an Orthodox priest of Greek nationality, was seriously wounded by bullets.
While the religious, in civilian clothes, closes the Orthodox Church of the Annunciation, in the 7th arrondissement of Lyon, an individual "
of large size and dressed in black
", as described by the first witnesses of the scene, approaches and fires twice at close range, hitting his victim in the liver.
The assailant then fled.
Shortly thereafter, Nikolaos K. was rushed to hospital as the police searched for the shooter.
Algerian in an irregular situation arrested and released
Shortly after the events, a man "who
could correspond to the description given by the first witnesses
" according to the prosecution, was arrested in another district of Lyon, in front of a fast food restaurant.
Homeless, of Algerian nationality in an irregular situation, and known to the police, he was placed in police custody.
But the investigation then seems to quickly rule out the suspect: a doctor examines him and judges that his condition "[comes from]
compulsory hospitalization
" in a psychiatric establishment, incompatible with police custody.
Not carrying a weapon at the time of the arrest, "there is
no element allowing him to be involved in the commission of the facts
" added the public prosecutor of Lyon yesterday early afternoon.
Read also: Lyon: an Orthodox priest wounded by bullets, lifting of custody of the man arrested on Saturday
At the same time, an investigation was opened by the Lyon public prosecutor's office for “
attempted murder
” and entrusted to the interregional direction of the judicial police, whose “
investigations are actively continuing
”.
The attacked priest was preparing to return to Greece
The vital prognosis of the victim was still engaged yesterday Sunday, November 1.
In
Figaro
, Bishop Emmanuel Adamakis, metropolitan of the Orthodox Church of France and president of the conference of orthodox bishops of France, specified that the Ministry of the Interior had warned him of the attack, and declared that the wounded priest s 'was preparing to leave the Church of the Annunciation to return to Greece to take up new functions.
In view of his state of health, the victim "
has not yet been heard by the investigators
", Sunday, added the prosecution.
However, she seems to have indicated that she did not know her attacker.
If the terrorist trail is not officially ruled out, the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office (PNAT) is still not seized.
"
There is no terrorist claim today
", underlined the Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin Sunday on BFMTV, at the end of a mass in Tourcoing.
Asked about Sud Radio, criminologist Xavier Raufer also indicated yesterday Sunday that the procedure involving a hunting rifle "
looks more like a method used by the criminal community than an Islamist attack
".
Contacted this Monday by
Le Figaro
, the Lyon Police Hall said the police were not commenting on the case.
Other elements attract the attention of the investigators: the personal conflicts of the priest.
Nikolaos K. had been opposed for several years to a former monk who was also Orthodox, Jean-Michel D., who attacked the pope, involved according to him in matters of morals and embezzlement.
Attacked for defamation, he was convicted in 2018 for these charges.
An undated video, uploaded yesterday Sunday by an English-speaking Orthodox media outlet, The Pappas Post, showed an altercation between two people in front of the Orthodox church, who could be the pope and Jean-Michel D.
Politicization: the far left accuses an activist of Debout La France and then back pedal
And it is on the basis of these past controversies that the case has taken a political turn, which adds its share of haze to an already delicate investigation.
On social networks, several Internet users relayed the photo of Jean-Michel D., specifying that the man is an activist of the Debout La France party, and was a candidate in the legislative elections in 2017. Local newspapers mentioned the "
extreme rival right
”of the priest, when many left and far left activists did not hesitate to make him the author of the attack.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of La France Insoumise, tweeted, calling out Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, president of Debout La France: “
We learn that the shooting at an Orthodox priest comes from a far-right monk.
So @dupontaignan?
".
Before quickly retracting, erasing his tweet and specifying: “
In the afternoon, we shared an element on the Lyon attack which seemed verified by several publications and then was questioned.
We therefore removed the tweet until verification
”.
Jean-Michel D. in fact affirmed yesterday Sunday to local media that he was shopping at the time of the attack, which the cameras of stores visited "
can prove
", and that he stands "
at the full disposition of justice
”.
“
It would be normal given the litigation we have.
But I'm not the only one,
”he added.
In a statement, the party of Nicolas Dupont-Aignan nevertheless indicated that it was ready to initiate defamation proceedings in the absence of an apology from the leader of France Insoumise.
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