The brother-in-law of Islamist terrorist Mohammed Merah, Abdelouahed El-Baghdadi, was arrested on Friday evening near the Olympic Games fan zone in Vincennes. This arrest, confirmed by police sources and reported by Le Parisien and Le Figaro, highlights ongoing concerns regarding Islamist radicalization and public safety during large events.
El-Baghdadi, who has a history of violence and radical behavior, was apprehended approximately a hundred meters from the fan zone, where the DJ Cut Killer was set to perform. He was found in possession of a prayer rug, a Koran, and a change of clothes, but no weapons were discovered at the time of his arrest. The police emphasized that this was a precautionary measure, with no current evidence linking him to any plans for violence associated with the Olympics.
A known figure in the realm of Islamist extremism, El-Baghdadi is the brother-in-law of Mohammed Merah, the perpetrator of the 2012 Toulouse shootings that claimed the lives of seven victims, including three Jewish children. Following his time in Syria with the Islamic State in 2014, he returned to France and turned himself in to authorities. In 2017, he received a nine-year prison sentence for conspiracy to commit terrorism, of which two-thirds was non-reducible. Despite his release, he remains under surveillance by intelligence services, indicating ongoing concerns about his potential for further radicalization.
