Frédéric Mathieu, MP for La France Insoumise and the NUPES (LFI-NUPES) called on the French Interior Ministry on Tuesday for the removal of the confidentiality order on the case files of the 2013 Paris assassination in which three female Kurdish politicians were killed.
Suspecting a link between the two triple-murders of Kurds in Paris, which occurred 10 years apart, Mathieu also criticised the Interior Ministry for holding the case of the December 2022 shooting as a racist attack instead of terrorism.
“This case must be handled properly. Above all, to protect the Kurds living in France,” the MP said.
The background and connections between the two incidents, a December 2022 armed attack against a Kurdish cultural centre in Paris where three Kurdish activists died, and the January 2013 Paris assassination of female Kurdish politicians, should be investigated by a counter-terrorism judge, according to Mathieu.
“We all know that the suspect in the 2013 killings was a Turkish intelligence service (MİT) agent,” the MP said.
Paris suspect Ömer Güney died of a suspicious health condition shortly before his trial was set to start. William Malet, the 2022 suspect, mentioned suicide in his recent communications. Considering Güney’s death, Malet telling the police he was suicidal and meant to kill himself with his last bulelet was “suspicious”, Mathieu said and called on the Interior Ministry to repeal the confidentiality order on the 2013 assassination.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin responded that Mathieu’s call was disrespectful to the independence of the judiciary. “The prosecution decides whether this case is a terrorist attack or not. This is not the ministry’s business and the minister cannot interfere with the judiciary,” Darmanin said.
The French MP called Darmanin to attend the Kurdish Democratic Council in France’s (CDK-F) conference on 12 January to see for himself the Kurds’ efforts for the repeal of the confidentiality order.
The 2013 investigation was resumed in 2019 at the demand of the victims’ families, and the judge requested the Interior Ministry to share intelligence documents at their disposal. The ministry rejected the request citing state secrets, reported Özgür Politika.
The final indictment before the unheard trial directly blamed MİT, which denied any role in the triple-murder.
French authorities claim that the December attack was committed by a lone wolf, but Kurds in France believe the two triple-killings are connected and continue to point the finger at Turkey for both attacks.
