site.btaCourt to Hear Extradition Case of "Charlie Hebdo" Attacker's Brother-in-Law on August 10

Court to Hear Extradition Case of "Charlie Hebdo" Attacker's Brother-in-Law on August 10

Sofia, August 8 (BTA) - The Sofia City Court will hold a hearing on a European Arrest Warrant for Mourad Hamyd at 2:30 p.m. on August 10, the prosecution service said on Monday.

Hamyd, 20, brother-in-law of "Charlie Hebdo" attacker Cherif Kouachi, was detained in Sofia on July 29. He is held at a central detention centre. The French authorities want him in connection with terrorism-related activities.

The Sofia City Prosecution Office has received a translation into Bulgarian of the European Arrest Warrant. Considering this, pursuant to the European Arrest Warrant and Extradition Act, the Prosecution Office approached the court with a motion for Hamyd's indefinite detention in order to secure the future procedure for his extradition to France. On August 2, the Court ordered his detention in custody as a precautionary measure to secure his appearance. Hamyd has not appealed the measure.

Terrorism suspect Mourad Hamyd entered Bulgaria from Serbia, declaring to the border authorities that the purpose of his visit was tourism, the Prosecutor General's Spokesperson Roumyana Arnaoudova told a news conference later on Monday. When he arrived in this country, the Bulgarian authorities found that Hamyd had been reported missing by his sister in the Schengen Information System (SIS). This information did not warrant his detention but required only monitoring and notifying the French authorities.

On July 28, Hamyd crossed the border with Turkey, where he was detained because of a five-year bar on entering that country. The Turkish authorities returned him to Bulgaria. Meanwhile, information was received from France, according to which he was an especially dangerous travelling fighter of Islamic State. On these grounds, the Chairperson of the State Agency for National Security ordered his expulsion from Bulgaria and a ten-year bar on entering the country. Hamyd was due to be handed over to Serbia, but the European Arrest Warrant arrived on July 29 and he was detained in Bulgaria.

The French authorities suspect him of participating in an organized crime group for preparing terrorist acts. The man travelled alone and crossed the Bulgarian border with his French passport, Arnaoudova pointed out.