He is one of the most wanted terrorist suspects in France, now he was caught in Africa: Peter Cherif, apparently well-known with the „Charlie Hebdo“ assassins, is in custody in Paris.
He is said to have been in close contact with the „Charlie Hebdo“ assassins Said and Cherif Kouachi, French authorities searched the world for the terror suspect: Peter Cherif was caught last week in East Africa’s Djibouti and was now delivered to France. He is currently in custody in Paris, reports French media, including „Le Monde“.
In the terrorist attack on the French satirical newspaper „Charlie Hebdo“ on January 7, 2015, the Kouachi brothers had killed a total of twelve people. The two Islamists were shot dead by special police units a few days later. Cherif is supposed to have been friends with both.
Peter Cherif, 36, alias Abou Hamza, is considered a possible confidant or even mastermind of the attack. He has long been known to the authorities as an Islamist and has been in custody in France for quite some time. Since 2017, he is due to the alleged membership in a terrorist group for search sought.
In the past, the Paris-born Cherif fought, according to French security agencies for the terrorist network al-Qaida in Iraq. He was arrested there in 2004 and sentenced to 15 years‘ imprisonment, but escaped in 2007 after an outbreak and went to Syria.
Later, he was recaptured there and sent to France, where he spent 18 months in prison before settling in Yemen one day before the trial ended. The US put Cherif on a list of wanted terrorists in 2015 as a member of the al-Qaeda branch in Yemen.
