Two men suspected of belonging to the Turkish ultranationalist “Grey Wolves” movement were indicted Thursday in Paris for advocating terrorism and reconstituting a dissolved combat group, we learned from the Paris prosecutor's office and a source close to the case.
These two men, “born in France in 2000 and 2003” were arrested on Tuesday in Strasbourg and Saint-Étienne, according to BFMTV, following an investigation carried out 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.
They are suspected of having promoted terrorism online.
According to BFMTV, they are members of the “Grey Wolves”, a Turkish ultranationalist movement close to nationalists allied to the government.
A source close to the matter confirmed that they were suspected of belonging to this group.
A Turkish ultranationalist movement
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-Turkist” 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.
Also read “We are going to kill the Armenians”: the worrying rise in violence from small radical Turkish groups
They promote “an ideology tending to discriminate or even provoke violence against people of Kurdish and Armenian origin,” stated the dissolution decree.
Placed under judicial supervision
The two suspects were indicted for public online advocacy of an act of terrorism and participation in the maintenance or reconstitution of a dissolved combat group, said the public prosecutor.
A judicial investigation was opened on Thursday, said the prosecution.
“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.