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Demonstration for Halimi in Paris on Sunday
Photo: GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT / AFP
Thousands of people have protested in France against a court decision not to prosecute the killing of a Jewish woman. The then 65-year-old was abused by a neighbor in the east of Paris in April 2017 and thrown from the balcony of her apartment in a social building. The 27-year-old attacker shouted "Allahu Akbar", meaning "God is great", and quoted verses from the Koran. The police initially did not classify the act as anti-Semitic and only changed their assessment later.
The perpetrator was not convicted.
Instead, the man was declared insane in court because of a psychosis resulting from cannabis and alcohol use.
He has now been in psychiatry for at least 20 years.
The bereaved of the woman complained against it.
However, they were defeated last week before the Paris Court of Cassation, the highest judicial authority in France.
You now want to go to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg to get a trial against the perpetrator.
Justice Minister announces change in law
According to police estimates, more than 20,000 people gathered near the Paris Eiffel Tower at the demonstration on Sunday, including the leader of the La République en Marche party of President Emmanuel Macron, Christophe Castaner, the former First Lady Carla Bruni and the Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.
There were also protests in Israel on Sunday.
Hundreds of people gathered in front of the French embassy in Tel Aviv, including several members of parliament.
French President Macron had spoken out in favor of a change in the law earlier this week, according to which violent criminals should no longer be declared incapable of guilt for drug use.
Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti announced a corresponding bill by the end of May on Sunday.
A street in Paris is to be named after Sarah Halimi.
chs / AFP
