An activist indicted in Paris for provoking an act of terrorism

An ultra-right activist from the southwest was indicted Friday in Paris in particular for provoking an act of terrorism and apologizing, while another man, who does not belong to this movement, is also being prosecuted for him have sold weapons, according to a judicial source.

Both were remanded in custody. The judicial information opened by the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (Pnat) does not target the criminal terrorist association, according to the same source, who underlines that at this stage, the investigation has not demonstrated the preparation of a violent project. Investigations, in particular the use of all data and digital media, are continuing, however.

They were exchanging on Telegram

The two men were arrested Tuesday in Tarn-et-Garonne and Gironde and placed in police custody by the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI). They were spotted, according to judicial and police sources, by exchanges on the encrypted Telegram messaging. Both wrote to make “arms purchases”, a police source said.

The first suspect was arrested in Montauban, where he is a municipal employee. Aged 46, he administered Telegram encrypted messaging channels, rooted in an ultra-right ideology and adhered to a so-called “accelerationist” trend, which aims to provoke or encourage clashes between communities. According to a source familiar with the matter, he published very violent messages and explained that it was necessary to prepare, by arming, for civil war.

The other man assures that he didn’t know anything

He was indicted for provocation to an act of terrorism, apology for terrorism, possession of a weapon of war and explosive substances in connection with a terrorist enterprise and acquisition of category C weapons without having declared them.

The other man, aged 60, hunter, was arrested in a hamlet of Saint-Denis-de-Pile, a town of 5,700 inhabitants, in the heart of Libournais (Gironde). He is accused of having illegally sold hunting weapons to the first, which earned him an indictment in particular for ceding category C weapons without prior declaration. But he assures that he did not share his ideas and did not know anything about his possible plans.

“No link between my client and the ultra-right”

“There is no link between my client and the ultra-right movement in any way,” his lawyer, Julie Gonidec, told AFP. “It has nothing to do with any ideological postures” of the other implicated, she added. “They never saw each other, there was only a transaction link through the sale of hunting weapons.”

During the searches, “several dozen weapons of all kinds (long and short weapons, ammunition etc.), as well as material used in the composition of explosives” were discovered, according to a police source. Since 2017, several plans for violent action by the ultra-right, targeting politicians in particular, have been foiled.

source site