French jihadist linked to Charlie Hebdo attackers stands trial for terrorism-related offences

French jihadist Peter Cherif, who was in regular contact with the brothers who carried out the 2015 attack on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, went on trial in Paris Monday. Cherif, who has not been formally charged over the attack, is on trial for terrorism-related offences allegedly committed between 2011 and 2018 as well as the kidnapping of three French aid workers in Yemen.

A French jihadist, who was close to the brothers behind the 2015 massacre at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, went on trial in Paris on Monday.

Peter Cherif, also known as Abou Hamza, was arrested in Djibouti in 2018 after years allegedly fighting in the ranks of Al-Qaeda in the Middle East.

He is being tried for terrorism-related offences allegedly committed between 2011 and 2018, and the 2011 kidnapping of three French aid workers in Yemen.

In 2015, Cherif was placed on a US blacklist as a member of the Yemen-based militant group Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

Cherif, 42, was linked to a Paris jihadist cell and was named in the enquiry into the January 2015 attack on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, due to his regular contact with the perpetrators, brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi.

(AFP)


Read more on FRANCE 24 English

Read also:
Six pupils go on trial over 2020 murder of French schoolteacher Samuel Paty
Eight years after deadly attacks, Charlie Hebdo back in the headlines for angering Tehran
'Fake news inception': Debunking fake Charlie Hebdo covers