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Brother of Toulouse killer Merah convicted of links to terror group

Abdelkader 'Kader' Merah, 35, cleared of helping brother kill seven people in 2012 but jury decided he had been part of a terrorist conspiracy.

La rédaction de Mediapart

This article is freely available.

The brother of a French Islamist who killed seven people in Toulouse in a series of terror attacks five years ago has been cleared of being an accomplice to the murders, reports The Guardian.

Abdelkader Merah, 35, was however jailed for 20 years after a special Paris court found him guilty of links to a terrorist organisation.

Merah had been accused of helping his brother Mohamed Merah, 23, who killed three soldiers and three children and a teacher at a Jewish school in the southern French city in March 2012.

The gunman died after 32-hour siege at his home during which he claimed to be acting on behalf of al-Qaida.

Abdelkader Merah was arrested shortly afterwards and has been held on remand ever since. He has denied having anything to do with the attacks or knowing that his younger brother was planning a killing spree.

After a five-week trial, the Paris court cleared him of complicity in the murders, but found him guilty of being part of a terrorist organisation.

Read more of this report from The Guardian.