The leader of a gang which in 2006 tortured and killed Ilan Halimi, a French Jew, was sentenced to seven more years in prison for making anti-Semitic videos while in jail.

On Feb 13., seven years to the day after Ilan Halimi died, a correctional court in Moulins found Youssouf Fofana, head of the Gang of Barbarians, whose members tortured and murdered Halimi, guilty of propagating terrorism and inciting racial hatred, Le Monde reported.

Fofana’s gang kidnapped 23-year-old Halimi in 2006 and held him for ransom, then tortured him for three weeks before he was found by police Halimi died on his way to the hospital.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Fofana was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 22 years. Last year he was put on trial again, after prison officials found videos he made calling for an “African revolt.”

Jérome Guedj, president of the local council of Essonne – the municipality south of Paris where Ilan Halimi was murdered, last week announced a new fund for fighting anti-Semitism named after Halimi. Each year the fund will give out $13,000 to three individuals who took part in the fight against anti-Semitism, he announced on Feb. 13.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount