2 Ex-Cons Arrested in Murder of French Jewish Politician
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
French police reportedly have arrested two suspects in the murder of a French Jewish politician who was found dead in his home.
The men, ages 21 and 23, were arrested over the weekend and accused of murder, robbery, arrest, arbitrary detention and forcible confinement and concealment, the French daily Le Parisien reported. They reportedly have criminal records, and have committed crimes together in the past.
The body of Alain Ghozland, 73, a municipal councilor in the Paris suburb of Creteil, was found riddled with stab wounds in his apartment on Jan. 12.
An unnamed judicial source told the French MetroNews website last week that the cause of death was “traumatic asphyxiation,” which he is quoted as saying “confirms the voluntary nature of the homicide.” He declined to say whether or not Ghozland was strangled to death, however.
Ghozland’s body was discovered after his brother called police because the politician failed to show up at their synagogue, as he usually does each morning, the news channel RTL reported. Ghozland’s apartment was ransacked, possibly by intruders, and his body showed deep lacerations that appeared to have been caused by a knife.
Police reportedly believe the death was the result of a botched robbery. Ghozland’s family has suggested the death may be related to anti-Semitism.
Creteil, which is about 7 miles from the heart of Paris, was the site of a rape and robbery committed in December 2014 against a couple who said they were targeted because they were Jews.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
