An attack on a Kurdish cultural center on rue d'Enghien, in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, left three dead and three injured on Friday, December 23.
The suspect, Willam M., 69, is French, a retired train driver.
In police custody, he justified his act by claiming his "racist" character.
Transferred to psychiatry, his police custody was lifted.
He justified his act by claiming his "racist" character and admitted to feeling a "hatred of foreigners that had become completely pathological".
The suspect described himself as "depressive" and "suicidal", according to Le Monde.
He also clarified that he had "always wanted to murder migrants, foreigners", "before [s]e suicide", since a burglary suffered in 2016, which according to him was the trigger for his racist hatred. .
The three victims, all Kurds, were committed members of their community.
A rally was organized on Saturday in Paris to pay tribute to them.
France 24 paints their portrait.
This evening at the Kurdish center Ahmet Kaya, the candles were lit in homage to the 3 martyrs.
A lot of sadness but also rage to have seen the event finally banned.
“Jin Jiyan Azadî” on the flowers left for Emine Kara (Evîn, “love” in Kurdish. pic.twitter.com/lQQ1INgHDI
— Serhildan (@reseauserhildan) December 24, 2022
Emine Kara, a former fighter against the Islamic State Organization
Also known as Evîn ("love", in Kurdish) Goyî, this woman, prosecuted in Turkey for her political activities, had fought the Islamic State Organization (IS) in northern and eastern Syria, according to the Kurdish Democratic Council of France (CDK-F).
She had notably participated in the reconquest of Raqqa, and fought in Kobané (Syrian Kurdistan).
Her fight lasted thirty years, and led her to the four parts of Kurdistan, Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran.
After living in a refugee camp in northern Iraq, the activist had arrived, according to her uncle quoted by Liberation, in France to treat her war wounds.
She had filed an asylum application with OFPRA, which had been rejected, according to the CDK-F.
She intended to appeal.
Since her arrival in France, Emine Kara had been involved in the Kurdish women's movement in France, of which she was the national leader.
She had been working in recent months to support the movement in Iran, in which many Kurds participate.
A demonstrator interviewed by Liberation blames her in particular for the origin of the slogan "Woman, life, freedom", chanted by Iranian demonstrators and assures that she had only been in France for "a year".
This slogan has indeed been used for several years by the women's branch of the Peace and Democracy Party, a formation linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
In this context, Emine Kara was working on the organization of a demonstration, on January 7, to demand more transparency on the circumstances of the assassination, on January 9, 2013, of three Kurdish activists shot dead in the 10th arrondissement. from Paris.
According to the statements of Agit Polat, spokesperson for the CDK-F at franceinfo, the activist "had a certain broader responsibility on the scale of the movement of Kurdish women around the world. In this sense, it is not a target that was randomly picked for us."
One of the murdered Kurds in #Paris is Emine Kara, nom de guerre Evin Goyi, one leading figure of the Kurdish women's liberation movement.
One of those who created the notion of #JinJiyanAzadi with their struggle for freedom under the most difficult circumstances.
#JeSuisKurde pic.twitter.com/kbeIefjIIb
— deftera reş (@DefteraRes) December 23, 2022
Miran Perwer, singer and songwriter
This young man was a famous Kurdish singer and songwriter within his community, originally from Muş-Varto in Bakur (Northern Kurdistan).
Miran Perwer benefited from the status of political refugee in France, after having been "pursued in Turkey for his art", according to the CDK-F, and for his "political activities", and "in particular" his support for the HDP, according to La Dépêche.
According to information from Le Monde, he had spent two years in prison in Turkey and had left the country for France, leaving behind his wife and two children.
The spokesman for foreign relations of the Kurdish Democratic Council in France added that Miran Perwer "was killed while he was eating in the restaurant opposite the Kurdish Democratic Center", according to Le Figaro.
Abdulrahman Kizil, "active member" of the community
A Kurdish citizen originally from Northern Kurdistan (Bakur) according to the Kurdish news site Serhildan, and aged around sixty, Abdulrahman Kizil had political refugee status in France.
He came daily to the Kurdish cultural center on rue d'Enghien, of which he was an "active member", often arriving early in the morning and staying "until the evening", according to Berivan Firat, one of the CDK spokespersons. -F.
"He was of all actions. This man dedicated his life to the Kurdish struggle," she added.
According to Serhildan, he was well liked in his community.
Abdurahman Kizil was also a refugee from Northern Kurdistan (Bakur).
He came to the Kurdish center every day to take part in the activities and meet his community there.
He was known and loved by many.
pic.twitter.com/fFWqJdV9fm
— Serhildan (@reseauserhildan) December 24, 2022
Three other people were injured in the attack.
Their days are not in danger.
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