France: the “return pathways” at the heart of the first day of the Reda Hame trial

Text by: RFI Follow

The trial of Reda Hame began this Thursday, February 20 before the assizes of Paris. This 34 year old Parisian is prosecuted for association of terrorist criminals. Reda Hame is notably accused of having joined in June 2015 the Islamic State group in Syria, where he would have been missioned to return to France to commit an attack by Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the alleged coordinator of the November 13 attacks.

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" How to explain that Abelhamid Abaaoud selected, to carry out an attack in France, an individual like Reda Hame who had no specific experience and stayed only 8 days in Syria? Asked the president. " It is not surprising, " replied an investigator.

According to him, the case of Reda Hame perfectly illustrates the strategy of the channels of projection of jihadists towards Europe piloted by the COPEX, the committee of external operations of the IS. Appointed emir of this COPEX in early 2015, Abdelhamid Abaaoud targets individuals among the hundreds of recruits who are flocking to Syria, including around forty French for the month of June 2015 alone.

Abaaoud's priority, continues the police officer, is to " recruit the smoothest profiles " like Reha Hame , a French national without a record, " less likely to attract attention than a seasoned criminal for example " who is lavished " Very short training ", so that the round trip to Syria is more likely to go unnoticed.

" But then there is no guarantee that the recruit will execute, is it not a big risk?" "Reminds the judge. " It is a deliberate strategy, on the principle of the anthill, " says the investigator. He explains: “ If there are swords in the water, it doesn't matter. The idea is to train as many jihadists as possible. Reda Hame himself talks about the factory and there is one that will succeed . ”

The return of Reda Hame to France via several countries, as well as the encrypted means of communication at its disposal, are also typical of these sectors, he points out.

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• France
• Terrorism
• Justice
• Paris attacks
• EI

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