By The newspaper
Jun 20, 2024, 01:33 AM EDT
The Nanterre regional prosecutor’s office reported the arrest of two teenagers from a Paris suburb, who were preliminarily accused of raping a 12-year-old girl and of religiously motivated violence. A Jewish leader declared that the girl is Jewish.
The attack against a minor in Courbevoie caused widespread shock and concern among the population, especially after the increase in anti-Semitic acts that have been recorded in France since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.
The girl reported the sexual abuse she suffered since the weekend. The authorities of the city of Courbevoie began an investigation that led to the arrest of two boys aged 12 and 13, the regional prosecutor’s office ruled, The Associated Press agency shared.
Multiple charges against him
Authorities reported that the preteens received multiple preliminary charges, including aggravated gang rape of a minor under 15 years of age, violence and public insult motivated by religion, death threats, attempted extortion, and illegal recording or transmission of sexual images.
The teenagers confronted the victim in a park near the house of one of her friends, and then forced her to enter a nearby shed where they sexually abused her, in addition to shouting insults, death threats and anti-Semitic comments, France 24 shared. .
The prosecution did not specify the identity of both the victim and the accused, because they are all minors. In addition, they adhered to the victim protection policy in the European country, especially when the crime is hate crime.
They confirm that the girl is Jewish
The AP agency highlighted that the lawyer and Jewish leader, Elie Korchia offered an interview with the French radio station BFM, where he said that the 12-year-old victim is Jewish and that Palestine was mentioned during the attack.
The French Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, wrote on the social network X that the minor was “raped because she is Jewish,” identifying it as an anti-Semitic attack.
A third child named assisted witness
The two minors are detained and will remain under judicial guardianship while investigations continue, the prosecutor’s office said. There is a third child, who was named as an assisted witness to the alleged rape and was referred to a special education program.
French media added that the prosecution mentioned that the three preteens “expressed regret towards the victim without mentioning their participation.”
Space in schools to fight anti-Semitism
France 24 also mentioned that President Emmanuel Macron, upon learning of the girl’s case, asked the Minister of Education, Nicole Belloubet, “to organize a space in all schools on the fight against anti-Semitism and racism, to prevent them from infiltrating schools hate speech with serious consequences,” he specified in a statement from the presidential office.
Anti-Semitic hate crimes grew in France in the first months of 2024, with an increase of up to 300%, according to government figures. This increase grew since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 and the start of the war in Gaza.
With information from AP and France 24
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