At home the eldest brother Abdel hit his younger brother Kader. Kader in turn stabbed his older sibling. Kader tied up and hit the youngest brother Mohamed, while Abdel hit his little sisters Souad and Aïcha. Kader, too, hit his big sisters Souad and Aïcha, as did the youngest boy Mohamed. Their mother, Zoulikha, meanwhile defended the sons who beat her daughters. This was the Merah family whose youngest member Mohamed in March 2012 murdered seven people in south-west France, three soldiers and four Jews, including three children, before being killed by police.
Giving evidence in the Paris trial of his brother Abdelkader 'Kader' Merah who on November 2nd, 2017, was cleared was accused of being an accomplice to the attacks, but jailed for 20 years for being part of a terrorist conspiracy, Abdelghani or 'Abdel' Merah painted a portrait of a family corrupted by anti-Semitism and violence. As for their sister Aïcha Merah, she dismissed her eldest brother's evidence and defended Kader. The other sister Souad Merah was not in court. Having tried to join Islamic State, she has apparently found refuge somewhere in Algeria.
Kader himself remained impassive in the dock, apart from the occasional smile.
At one point in the trial Carole Masliah, who represented several victims from the Ozar Hatorah Jewish school targeted by Mohamed Merah, summed up the Merahs as a “dysfunctional family of incredible violence ...in short, it's not a family”.
Several members of this dysfunctional 'non family' made their way into the witness box during the course of this trial. Given that the middle brother was on trial for being an accomplice with the youngest brother the study of their background takes on major importance: did the 2012 attacks find their cause in the sickening fabric of this family unit where physical marks from beatings took the place of signs of affection? No new decisive facts appeared during the course of the trial. Yet the impact of the family on Kader Merah's actions will have weighed heavily on the five judges' deliberations at the Paris special criminal court before their verdict on November 2nd.
In addition, the trial illuminated five years of French debate over jihad. If we stand back we can see that the divided Merah family has become a frame of reference for those university experts who had were swiftly overtaken by a phenomenon on which they had no longer really been focusing. It became a reference point, too, for the self-appointed experts who did the rounds of television studios and later cashed in on their notoriety and supposed knowledge. According to one's point of view the evidence heard during court case could support those who say that Islam should not be caricatured, as well as those who do caricature it. It could be used by those who seek to understand the roots of terrorism, just as it could be used by those who prefer to see every Muslin as a threat. The case could equally be used to back the most secular and humanist of theories, as well as the most hateful or far-fetched ones.
For example, when a police officer compared the Merah family to a sect, this led some to liken jihad to a transmissible intellectual illness that should be treated. From such thinking stems some of the various deradicalization projects funded by the French state, with the lack of results that we have seen.
Another example concerns the violent and lazy Mohamed Merah's genuine addiction to the video game Call of Duty, which prompted some to insist that this war game was a factor in his radicalization. Yet Merah had already started down the path of violence when young and as one of his brothers and the police have confirmed, he saw this game as a means of communicating with his network away from the prying eyes and ears of the intelligence services.
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Abdelghani
Now aged 40, Abdelghani Merah, usually known as Abdel, is the eldest brother. He was also the first person in the witness box at the trial. His head shaven, his body frail but speaking in a clear voice, Abdel first of all wanted to “reiterate my condolences to the victims”. Then, having stated that he himself was without a trade and had “no fixed abide”, one by one Abdel went through all his youngest brother's victims, those killed as well as those injured, giving their job, their rank if they were in the military, their age and their identity.
Enlargement : Illustration 1
After the wave of attacks in recent years in France it has been customary for the parents of terrorists to insist that their child had not previously been religiously active, that they did not understand this rapid radicalization. Mostly this has been said in good faith as those parents did not see it coming because they did not want to see it.
On this point Abdel did not mince his words in court: “Since March 2012 [editor's note, the time of the attacks] I've wanted to tell the truth however painful it might be, and not to maintain a code of silence as some members of my family have done. I condemn this blind hatred of the Jews … I'm giving evidence so that never again will a child consider Mohamed Merah as a liberating hero.”
Abdel is the person everyone has wanted to hear from because he represents the counter demonstration of those who want to see the whole of Islam as a threat. “You're the spokesman for France, you're the prosecution's darling,” said Kader Merah's defence lawyer Éric Dupond-Moretti with irony.
'He already had the Merah madness'
Abdel said the origin of the problem was the family unit. “To understand Mohamed Merah's terrorist attacks you really have to examine the parents, to know Souad Merah, to know Abdelkader [editor's note, the accused Kader's full name]”. The eldest brother described a childhood bathed in “post-colonial trauma, hatred of Jews, of everything that wasn't Muslim” and a home where blows were commonplace. He did not deny his own part in this. “My father hit me a lot, and I, too, used violence. I, too, used violence on Abdelkader Merah, Souad and Aïcha.” One of the lawyers for the victims pointed out that when he was questioned about his character Kader had held up Abdel as a “model”. To which Abdel replied: “If I was a model for Abdelkader Merah I was not a good model.”
From the witness box Abdel described Kader's behaviour in the family. “Abdelkader Merah hit Mohamed Merah, gave him bird food, he had become a monster, a dictator. He already had the Merah madness.” He was certain about his brother's guilt in relation to the attacks. “I want to restate my conviction as to Abdelkader Merah's danger to the Republic, to our children. After September 11th, 2001, Abdelkader Merah boasted that he was an Al Qaeda soldier, calling himself 'Ben Laden'. Mohamed Merah just followed Abdelkader Merah's path. Abdelkader Merah moulded Mohamed Merah.”
Enlargement : Illustration 2
He was unforgiving in his view, drawing on the particular relationship between himself and Kader. One evening in November 2001 Kader stabbed Abdel “seven times” in the chest, because “I loved a woman of Jewish origin”. Abdel had to go to hospital and Kader went to prison. The ties between the two brothers were broken for ever.
From Abdel's point of view it seemed that the Merah family's anti-Semitism was the cause of all its miseries. “I grew up in a family which cultivated a hated of Jews,” he told the court. “My mother ordered me to choose between her and the mother of my son. Abdelkader Merhal told Mohamed Merah that Jews were sub-humans, monkeys. My mother said that 'Arabs were born to hate the Jews'. They called my son 'the bastard' because I didn't want him to have a Muslim first name.”
His son, who is called Théodore and is studying at business school, also gave evidence. He described how his uncles and aunt “Kader, Mohamed and Souad” wanted to instil in him a “Salafist education”, how Kader had wanted to get him to visit a morgue at the age of 12 to “prepare him to die for God”, how his uncle was, he said, now “extremely proud of what Mohamed did because he acted for the cause”.
Before questioning Abdel Merah the prosecutor, advocate general Naïma Rudloff, raised the issue of the eldest brother's reliability, pointing out that some of his claims have later been denied. “One can sometimes be surprised by some of your statements, have you not laid it on a bit? It raises some doubts...” she said. Defence lawyer Éric Dupond-Moretti described Abdel as a “pathological liar”.
In the wake of Mohamed Merah's attacks carried out on a scooter at Toulouse and Montauban, Abdel Merah teamed up with the controversial journalist Mohamed Sifaoui. This led to a television report, shown on the M6 channel, in which Abdel filmed his sister Souad boasting of the murderous prowess of their brother Mohamed. This was followed by a book called 'Mon frère, ce terroriste' ('My brother the terrorist').
Éric Dupond-Moretti criticised the claims made by both Abdel and the journalist Sifaoui which he said had led to a man from the travelling community being unfairly suspected and being placed in custody. After the video and the book Abdel was shunned by his family who accused him of betraying them and of having sought to make money out of tragedy. However, in court several victims' representatives thanked Abdel for his condolences.
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Aïcha
At the hearing she gave the appearance of an elegant and modern young woman, with her curly hair flowing down over her tailored jacket with three-quarter-length sleeves and wearing jeans. Then you noticed the shortness of breath and her attempts to fight back the tears. It is not easy being called Aïcha Merah.
Her evidence followed that of her eldest brother's and began, too, with the same condemnation of the terror attacks. “I feel a deep shame, there's not a day that goes past without me thinking of the victims. I'm forced to live with my little brother's actions. I'm going to have to live with that forever,” she told the court. She, like Abdel, said she had chosen to practice no religion and described a difficult childhood. “Before my parents' divorce it was, I'd say, a family, normal. Then my mother asked for a divorce. From that time on it was a descent into hell.”
But the similarities between her account and that of Abdel stopped there. “I didn't live in a climate of anti-Semitism,” Aïcha Merah insisted. Yes there had been “a lot of violence” she said. But she put the blame for this on Abdel, whom she said had “dragged Kader” down this path.
Compromising evidence of a pizza meal
When the advocate general Naïma Rudloff brought up her suicide attempt at the age of 21, Aïcha denied that Kader had been the cause of it, contrary to what she had said at the time. Her brother had stopped her from going out and had threatened to kill her.
However, since the attacks Aïcha has cut all ties with the rest of the family. And she had readily contacted social services when her sister Souad took her children out of school. So why did this avowed atheist describe her brother Kader as a man at peace, who had become “calmer” since he became radicalised?
The answer lies in the always complex and shifting balance of power inside a large family. The modern Aïcha had already distanced herself from the rest of the family when, after a chance encounter, she had renewed her links with her former tormentor Kader. “We found an equilibrium, we spoke a lot about our family, the violence,” she told the court. To make sure this fragile and episodic relationship lasted, brother and sister made an agreement: to never speak about religion. This makes it more understandable why, despite the gulf that separate them and the crimes of which he was charged, Aïcha sought to protect her brother from the life sentence facing him.
Yet, because nothing with the Merahs is ever straightforward, it was Aïcha and not Abdel who produced the more damaging evidence for Kader's defence. On the night of the police action which led to Mohamed Merah being killed at his flat, Aïcha had gone to the police and informed them of the last time she had seen youngest brother. She said they had eaten pizza together a week earlier – with Kader.
This chance encounter had taken place on the evening of March 15th, 2012, when Aïcha came across Mohamed in the shopping aisles of a Carrefour City store in Toulouse. Mohamed, whom Aïcha had not spoken to for months, insisted they went to get a bite to eat. She remembered that Kader had been waiting at the wheel of a hire car in which the mileage device had been disconnected. The three went to a pizzeria and spoke about a range of different subjects. “Mohamed spoke about his journeys, that he had been to the foot of the Himalayas. He talked about the sun setting in the Sinai,” said Aïcha.
It was an unremarkable episode all apart from one thing – the date. For earlier that day, on the afternoon of March 15th, Mohamed had executed two soldiers and seriously injured a third in an attack at Montauban carried out on a scooter. And here we have evidence that within hours of that crime Kader was with Mohamed after the latter's return to Toulouse. Moreover, on March 11th another witness had seen the brothers together near a football pitch a few hours before the first of Mohamed Merah's three attacks, in which a soldier – a Muslim - was murdered. One can therefore understand why, when Aïcha told the story of the pizzeria meeting to police, her sister Souad, who was also present, indicated for her to keep quiet. Unaware of the implications, Aïcha did not stay quiet.
In addition to the material evident she gave about the events surrounding the attacks, Aïcha also delivered the most scathing summary about life with the Merahs. She told the court how at different times she had fled the family to go and stay with others, depending on who had just been hitting her. “There were times when I sought refuge with my father, there were times when I sought refuge with Abdel, there were times when I sought refuge with Kader, there were times when I sought refuge with friends,” she declared. The 36-year-old then sighed before adding: “In the end it was there [with my friends] that I was best off...”
***
Zoulikha
She turned up at the court entrance at 9am even though she had been summoned to appear at 4pm. It was the last time that one saw Zoulikha Aziri troubled. That afternoon on October 18th the courtroom was packed and there was a tense atmosphere. For it was time for the mother of the Merah siblings to give evidence to the court and everyone was waiting for this moment. On the first day of the trial she had been insulted by the families of some of the victims. She had spoken to the media to claim the innocence of her son Kader. And during the hearing there were many questions raised over a mother who, according to her son Abdel, “divided the siblings” in order to win their love, a mother whom, according to Aïcha, “always defended the most violent”, and a mother-in-law who quarrelled with her sons' wives. “She spat on me and called me a dirty Jew,” Abdel's former partner said in court.
'His mother was the biggest liar I've known'
Here, at last, was the woman whom a neighbour had heard her say of Mohamed Merah's murders: “My son has brought France to its knees.” A yellow hijab on her head and an interpreter next to her, Zoulikha leant on the witness box. She had a message to get across and she hammered it home without a pause, sometimes replying to a question before it had even been completed. “My son Abdelkader is innocent, he had nothing to do with what happened,” she insisted.
Having given her brief “apologies to the victims” Zoulikha returned to her theme. Was there violence in the family? “Abdel was very violent. Kader was normal, like the other children.”
The court's president Frank Zientara pressed the point: “Abdelkader didn't pose a problem? You're sure?”
“Sure!” came the reply.
The judge then read a report dating back around ten years which stated that Zoulikha Aziri no longer had any authority over her son Abdelkader and even had to leave the house to flee his violence.
Her response: “At home, Kader's nice. He started work at the age of 16. To help us!”
Yet Abdelkader himself had never denied the violence directed against his mother.
She persisted. “He deals with everything, he does the shopping!”
Indeed, this spectacle of a mother defending her son tooth and nail, to the level of absurdity, became uncomfortable to watch. Then as the endless questioning continued, one started to get a hint of what may have been going on for years inside the Merah family. While no one would have been surprised at the way she attacked her son Abdelghani - “he's mad and bad” - the callousness of the way in which she pilloried her grandson Théodore resonated around the courtroom: “My grandson, he lies like his father!”
Zoulikha Aziri's testimony was equally unyielding when it came to her comments on the crucial point in the case: the evening of March 4th, 2012. It was on that evening that someone using Zoulikha Aziri's Freebox internet router visited the advert on the popular Bon Coin small-ad site which led Mohamed Merah to Imad Ibn Ziaten, his first military victim. The killer himself did not visit his mother's house that night. Kader Merah, meanwhile, had been there a little earlier. If it could be established that Kader was also present at the house a few hours later that evening, it would be decisive evidence against him.
Zoulikha Aziri sought to explain that it was her son Mohamed who had logged into her Freebox router remotely. Experts had been emphatic about it: this was impossible. But the witness insisted she knew better. “The engineers don't know! I'm telling the truth!”
The siblings' mother did not budge and after responding to a final salvo of questions she left the witness box. Earlier Abdel's ex-partner had told the court in relation to Zoulikha's comments about the family: “His mother was the biggest liar I've known.”
Enlargement : Illustration 3
Zoulikha Aziri's situation can be summed up as follows: of her five children two no longer speak to her, one has fled abroad and the youngest is dead. That just leaves Kader, who risks spending the rest of his life in prison. Her family has become a wasteland.
At the end of Zoulikha Aziri's evidence defence lawyer Éric Dupond-Moretti admitted: “I'll say it: she has lied. Between justice and her son, she chose her son.” Prosecutor Naïma Rudloff meanwhile said she understood – if did not approve of – her stance. “Madam, I understand, I don't go along with it, but I understand that you didn't want to burden your son, who is being prosecuted for being an accessory to murder.”
Nevertheless, in her remarks Zoulikha Aziri offered up an inexhaustible supply of arguments for those who, since the attacks at Toulouse and Montauban in 2012, have decried what they see as the the start of a war of civilisations and now want to regard every Muslim as a jihadist in the making. Moreover during the trial a former policeman published a photo and the purported address of where Zoulikha Aziri now lives on an Islamophobic website linked to ultra-nationalists.
A week after his evidence the comments of Hatim Ibn Ziaten resonate louder than ever. He is the brother of the first soldier killed by Mohamed Merah and, like him, a Muslim: “My Islam is an Islam of love and peace. Too many things are conflated ....They've taken our religion hostage to impose theirs.”
Observers at the courtroom will remember for a a long time the solidarity shown by the families who have suffered, the signs of respect and comfort that were directed at the Catholic, Jewish and Muslim families who are united in the same sorrow. Kader Merah, meanwhile, seemed largely unmoved by the entire proceedings. During the pleas made by lawyers acting on behalf of the victims he looked down at his watch on several occasions.
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- The French version of this article can be found here.
English version by Michael Streeter