French man held in Bulgaria 'linked to' Paris terror attacks

A Frenchman arrested in Bulgaria on January 1 trying to cross into Turkey was in contact with one of the men who carried out attacks in Paris last week, prosecutors say.

paris_shooting.jpg

(AAP)

A Frenchman arrested in Bulgaria on January 1 trying to cross into Turkey was in contact with one of the men who carried out attacks in Paris last week, prosecutors say.

Fritz-Joly Joachin, 29, a French citizen of Haitian origin, "was in contact several times with one of the two brothers - Cherif Kouachi," public prosecutor Darina Slavova said on Tuesday.

She said the contact took place before Joachin left France on December 30, a week before Cherif Kouachi and his brother Said killed 12 people in Paris attacks that shocked the world.

Joachin was initially wanted on a European arrest warrant issued by France following allegations by his wife that he had kidnapped their three-year-old son.

But on Monday, Bulgarian prosecutors received a second European arrest warrant for Joachin issued by a court in Paris.

"The charges are for participation in an organised crime group whose aim was organisation of terrorist acts," Slavova said.

The Kouachi brothers carried out their massacre at the Paris offices of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo on January 7. Two days later they were shot dead by French security forces.



Share

2 min read

Published

Updated



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world