A preliminary investigation was opened after seven priests of Vaucluse received suspicious letters by name, bearing the mention "
Allah Akbar
", AFP learned on Wednesday December 9 from the gendarmerie, which evokes a case "
taken very seriously
" .
“
Hand-written letters were sent by post to seven black African priests with their names and the address of the rectory where they live.
The letter only reads 'Allah Akbar' [God is the greatest] in French and Arabic,
”the Vicar General of the Diocese of Avignon Pascal Molemb Emock told AFP.
To read also: Attack of the basilica of Nice: Brahim Aouissaoui indicted and imprisoned
The investigation was entrusted by the Avignon prosecutor's office to the gendarmerie research brigade, the gendarmes told AFP, confirming information from
France 3 Provence
.
Contacted by AFP, the Avignon prosecutor's office had no additional information to communicate immediately.
"
These are not direct death threats, but in the context of a terrorist threat, this case is taken very seriously,
" added a source in the gendarmerie.
The letters come from neighboring Gard, according to the same source.
“
I am not afraid for myself, I will continue to live alone in my rectory.
But I am responsible for a community, I must be careful for the parishioners,
”commented for France 3 one of the priests who received this letter.
At the end of October, a knife attack perpetrated in a basilica in Nice by a young Tunisian, since indicted and imprisoned in particular for terrorist assassinations, claimed the lives of three people.
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