Two men suspected of belonging to the Turkish ultranationalist “
Grey Wolves
” movement were indicted on Thursday February 8 in Paris for advocating terrorism and reconstituting a dissolved combat group, AFP learned from the Paris prosecutor's office and 'a source close to the matter.
Following an investigation entrusted by the National Center for the Fight against Online Hate of the Paris Public Prosecutor's Office to investigators from the 1st judicial police district, a judicial investigation was opened on Thursday, the public prosecutor's office said.
Two people,
“born in France in 2000 and 2003”
and who according to BFM-TV had been arrested on Tuesday in Strasbourg and Saint-Étienne, were indicted for public online apology for an act of terrorism and participation in maintaining or to the reconstitution of a dissolved combat group, indicated the public prosecutor.
“With no prior record, they were placed under judicial supervision. The investigation will notably aim to continue investigations into their computer equipment
,” it was added.
BFM-TV had indicated that these two people were members of the
“Grey Wolves”
, a Turkish ultranationalist movement close to nationalists allied to the government.
A source close to the matter confirmed to AFP that they were suspected of belonging to this group.
“Panturquist” ideology
This movement, many members of which support President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was dissolved in France in November 2020, causing tensions between Ankara and Paris.
Originally, the
"Grey Wolves"
is a nickname given to members of the
"Idealist Homes"
, an ultranationalist movement which developed from the 1960s in the orbit of the far-right Turkish party MHP.
Allied to the
“pan-Turquist”
ideology and suspected of connections with the Turkish mafia, they especially made headlines in the 1970s and 1980s through their violent actions in the streets and on campuses in Turkey against left-wing activists. and minorities, going as far as murder.
When announcing its dissolution in November 2020, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin described the
“Gray Wolves”
as a group which
“incites discrimination and hatred and is involved in violent actions”
.
The
“Grey Wolves”
, whose number is difficult to quantify, had been accused by the government of having participated in incidents between the Turkish and Armenian communities near Lyon.
They promote
“an ideology tending to discriminate or even provoke violence against people of Kurdish and Armenian origin
,” affirmed the dissolution decree.