woman who turned in paris attack ringleader feels abandoned
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

Woman who turned in Paris attack ringleader feels 'abandoned'

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today Woman who turned in Paris attack ringleader feels 'abandoned'

An image grab taken from a video released by the jihadist media
Paris - AFP

The woman who turned in Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected ringleader of the November 13 Paris attacks, said Thursday she felt "abandoned" by the state and lived in fear of reprisals.

The woman -- using the pseudonym Sonia -- also said Abaaoud had claimed he had travelled to Europe with 90 others, including Syrians, Iraqis, French, German and British citizens.

He said they were "spread around everywhere in the Paris region".

Sonia was a friend of Abaaoud's cousin Hasna Aitboulahcen, who helped him hide after he and a group of jihadists killed 130 people in the coordinated bomb and gun attacks on cafes, restaurants, a concert hall and the Stade de France stadium.

Both Aitboulahcen and Abaaoud were killed in a police raid on a Paris flat five days after the attacks.

Prosecutors said police had closed in on Abaaoud after a "witness" came forward with information that was backed up by the investigation.

Sonia said in an interview with RMC radio and BFM television that she had called police when Abaaoud revealed he was planning more attacks, this time on a shopping centre, police station and a creche in La Defense business district of Paris.
"In my head I said they will not do it because I am going to stop them," she said.

Sonia said she was with Aitboulahcen, 26, on November 15 when she received a call from a Belgian number telling her to pick up Abaaoud, who was hiding in bushes near a motorway in Paris.

"He was smiling, he didn't look at all like a terrorist," said Sonia.

Sonia said she asked him: "Did you take part in what happened on November 13?

"He said, just like that: 'The terraces, that was me'," she said, referring to the attacks on people sitting outside pavement-front eateries.

Investigators have said Abaaoud, a Belgian of Moroccan origin, was part of a team of gunmen who drove around the east of Paris spraying cafes and restaurants with bullets.
"I said: 'But you killed people, you killed innocent people'," said Sonia.

"He said: 'No they're not innocent. You must see what's happening to us in Syria.'

"I saw that he was proud of himself, that he wasn't scared of anyone."

- 'Cut off from the world' -

Sonia said she had received little support from the state in changing her identity for security purposes and was afraid for her safety, even though she had police protection.

Since turning in Abaaoud, Sonia has lived in limbo. Although she has been given a false name, she claims she has not been given documentation to support it.

"I have no life, no social life, no job, no friends, no family. I have been cut off from the world," she said.

The BFM journalist who interviewed her said that since Sonia had been interviewed she had received some financial aid, but was still awaiting promised psychological help and assistance in building a new life.

"I feel threatened, abandoned," she said.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve refused to divulge details of the case.

"We are doing what must be done in an extremely complicated context," he told Europe 1 radio.

"The best way to act is to keep silent."

Within hours of the interview being broadcast, prosecutors said RMC and BFM were under investigation for violation of confidentiality and endangerment.

The probe aims to determine the "circumstances in which the information was gathered," said prosecutor Francois Molins, who is overseeing the Paris attacks investigation.

Source: AFP

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

woman who turned in paris attack ringleader feels abandoned woman who turned in paris attack ringleader feels abandoned

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

woman who turned in paris attack ringleader feels abandoned woman who turned in paris attack ringleader feels abandoned

 



GMT 16:52 2017 Tuesday ,21 February

Iraqi troops push into Daesh-held southern

GMT 10:50 2017 Tuesday ,05 December

Technip lands Bahrain refinery mega contract

GMT 08:12 2017 Monday ,10 April

Minister receives School Mini Olympics winners

GMT 13:15 2017 Thursday ,31 August

Al-Basher Arrives in the Holy Land

GMT 18:19 2017 Tuesday ,17 October

Producers' group moves to expel Weinstein

GMT 13:00 2015 Sunday ,18 October

DEWA participates in 11th Women’s Forum in France

GMT 15:48 2017 Wednesday ,22 February

GOIC Encourages Paper Industry in GCC States

GMT 02:41 2016 Tuesday ,08 November

US, Turkey COS held talks on Syria, Iraq

GMT 23:18 2017 Wednesday ,22 November

HRH Premier lauds Bahrain's ability to host major events
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday