Marla_Singer
United in diversity
If I ask such a question, it's probably because that story really shocked me and I've seen no thread yet about it.
The barbarians are actually the name of a gang operating in Southern Paris. Actually, their "business" was about blackmailing people to grab ransoms from them. During several years, they've been able to blackmail this way random people who were chosen because they belonged to a specific group which had in their eyes the reputation to have money : physicians from rich neighbourhoods, American expats, Jewish people.
That story lasted during 4 years. It was at first mainly about sending blackmail letters requesting money in exchange of life. Those letters were usually made under the name of specific fantasy causes. In the case of physicians, it was Corsican mafia, in the case of Americans, it was Al Qaeda terrorists. The gang varied massively in their way to operate so that each specific affair couldn't be directly linked with another one.
Anyway, few months ago, the gang decided to operate differently, probably because the former method wasn't enough conclusive. Their new plan was to send blond girls seducing people identified as rich. Their mission was to discuss with the guy untill the subway was closed (at 1am) in order to ask to be driven back at their home. But of course that was a trap, they were actually caught in their car by kidnappers who were waiting for them. Then, they were sequestered and would be freed only once ransom was paid.
Unforunately, this turned really bad with a specific victim, named Ilan Halimi. Like all the others, he's been chosen because he had the reputation to be rich. In his specific case, that reputation was based only on the fact he was Jewish.
He's been sequestered during three weeks in a cave, being tortured everyday (aoparently because the kidnappers considered this was "funny"). Kidnappers were smoking pots and extinguished them on his head or on his hand. He was beaten with metal pipes and other various tools everyday. Finally, after 3 weeks, the guy was in such a poor state that kidnappers decided to let him on a rail track. He died there because of his wounds, he had the skin completely burnt and the legs broken in pieces.
When the girl has learnt the story in the news, she got scared and decided to tell everything to the cops. She was actually simply paid to send the guy in the trap. Money. Nothing else.
Very quickly, we've found most of members of the barbarians, as they called themselves. The guy who was considered as the brain of the gang, Youssouf Fofana, had fled in Ivory Coast. Probably because he had family in Abidjan. He's been finally localized by the Ivorian police force thanks to a mobile phone call.
Anyway, here's the whole story. And this happened in my city of Paris.
Sorry to disturb you with such a horrific story, but well, somewhere I guess I needed to talk about this. I honnestly can't believe people raised in France could be able to do things like this, but I have to face the facts.
The barbarians are actually the name of a gang operating in Southern Paris. Actually, their "business" was about blackmailing people to grab ransoms from them. During several years, they've been able to blackmail this way random people who were chosen because they belonged to a specific group which had in their eyes the reputation to have money : physicians from rich neighbourhoods, American expats, Jewish people.
That story lasted during 4 years. It was at first mainly about sending blackmail letters requesting money in exchange of life. Those letters were usually made under the name of specific fantasy causes. In the case of physicians, it was Corsican mafia, in the case of Americans, it was Al Qaeda terrorists. The gang varied massively in their way to operate so that each specific affair couldn't be directly linked with another one.
Anyway, few months ago, the gang decided to operate differently, probably because the former method wasn't enough conclusive. Their new plan was to send blond girls seducing people identified as rich. Their mission was to discuss with the guy untill the subway was closed (at 1am) in order to ask to be driven back at their home. But of course that was a trap, they were actually caught in their car by kidnappers who were waiting for them. Then, they were sequestered and would be freed only once ransom was paid.
Unforunately, this turned really bad with a specific victim, named Ilan Halimi. Like all the others, he's been chosen because he had the reputation to be rich. In his specific case, that reputation was based only on the fact he was Jewish.
He's been sequestered during three weeks in a cave, being tortured everyday (aoparently because the kidnappers considered this was "funny"). Kidnappers were smoking pots and extinguished them on his head or on his hand. He was beaten with metal pipes and other various tools everyday. Finally, after 3 weeks, the guy was in such a poor state that kidnappers decided to let him on a rail track. He died there because of his wounds, he had the skin completely burnt and the legs broken in pieces.
When the girl has learnt the story in the news, she got scared and decided to tell everything to the cops. She was actually simply paid to send the guy in the trap. Money. Nothing else.
Very quickly, we've found most of members of the barbarians, as they called themselves. The guy who was considered as the brain of the gang, Youssouf Fofana, had fled in Ivory Coast. Probably because he had family in Abidjan. He's been finally localized by the Ivorian police force thanks to a mobile phone call.
Anyway, here's the whole story. And this happened in my city of Paris.
Sorry to disturb you with such a horrific story, but well, somewhere I guess I needed to talk about this. I honnestly can't believe people raised in France could be able to do things like this, but I have to face the facts.
