French national allegedly linked to Islamist extremists to face extradition hearing on January 16
A French national, Fritz Jolie Joaquin, arrested by Bulgarian authorities on the basis of a European warrant for allegedly abducting his three-year-old son, is to face an extradition hearing in the Bulgarian town of Haskovo on January 12 arising from a separate warrant alleging links to Islamist extremists involved in the Charlie Hebdo massacre, prosecutors said.
Joaquin (29), who is of Haitian origin, was arrested by Bulgaria on January 1 when he tried to cross into Turkey.
He was arrested on the basis of a warrant issued on the basis of an allegation by his spouse that he had taken the child out of France without her consent and that he intended taking the child to Syria to be trained in radical Islam.
Joaquin reportedly denies the allegations, saying that he had gone on a trip with his son and girlfriend. He is said not to oppose the extradition application in connection with the alleged abduction.
Local media said that prosecutors had confirmed that there was a second European arrest warrant alleging links to the group involved in the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack, in which 12 people died – a number that rose to 17 when a kosher supermarket in Paris also was attacked.
However, court proceedings regarding the second warrant would start only after an official translation of the European warrant, prosecutors said.
(Photo: Jason Morrison/sxc.hu)
