1 tourist dead after Paris knife attack, assailant was known by authorities for terrorist plans & radical Islam views

Le Monde
Sun, 03 Dec 2023 10:12 UTC

© Global Look Press / Alexis Sciard

FILE PHOTO: Known to authorities for his radical Islamism and psychiatric problems, this Frenchman had already been arrested and sentenced for a planned attack in the Paris area.

Armand Rajabpour-Miyandoab, a young Frenchman from the Paris region, was arrested on Saturday following the stabbing death of a German tourist in Paris and the attack on two other people with a hammer. He was a known person to authorities for his radical Islamism and psychiatric disorders.

What he is accused of

A German man was killed and two other people injured in a knife and hammer attack near the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Saturday evening. The assailant, Armand Rajabpour-Miyandoab, was arrested shortly after the incident and taken into custody. The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office (PNAT) has taken charge of the investigation for murder and attempted murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise and for criminal terrorist conspiracy.

"The attack took place shortly after 9 pm between the Quai de Grenelle and Bir-Hakeim, and the assailant attacked a tourist couple," reported Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin. "The man died from the stab wounds" and the attacker "went after the wife of this German tourist." Her life was saved "thanks to a cab driver who saw what was happening."

The assailant then crossed the Bir-Hakeim bridge. Pursued by the police, he appears to have attacked two other people, whose lives are not in danger: One is said to have been injured by a hammer blow to the eye and another to have been particularly "shocked," according to Darmanin's account. At the time of the incident, shortly after 9 pm near the Bir-Hakeim bridge, Armand Rajabpour-Miyandoab shouted "Allah akbar!" ("God is greatest!") several times, the minister added. The life of the suspect, who was neutralized by police using a Taser, is not in danger.

Motivations for the attack

After his arrest, Armand Rajabpour-Miyandoab told police that he was "angry at what was happening in Gaza, that France would be complicit in what Israel was doing." "He reportedly said he was fed up with seeing Muslims dying, both in Afghanistan and Palestine," Darmanin added.

Shortly before Armand Rajabpour-Miyandoab's attack, a video claiming responsibility for his actions was posted on social media. In the video, the assailant refers to "current events, the government, the murder of innocent Muslims," said a security source quoted by Agence France-Presse (AFP). At this stage, investigators do not know when the video was shot, but it was posted online "concurrently" with the attack, according to this source.

Already imprisoned for planning an attack

Born in France in 1997 to Iranian parents, with whom he lives in Essonne (south of Paris), the young man has an "S" file, used by law enforcement to flag someone considered a threat to national security. He was already questioned by the French domestic intelligence service (DGSI) in 2016 for a planned attack in La Défense. At the time, he was suspected of having planned a stabbing attack in the business district west of Paris, at the instigation of a jihadist based in Syria, Maximilien Thibault, a former member of Forsane Alizza.

He was sentenced to five years' imprisonment and released in 2020, after four years in prison, said a security source quoted by AFP. He was been placed under judicial supervision and Micas, an administrative system with measures comparable to those of judicial supervision, aimed at preventing acts of terrorism.

Psychiatric disorders and medical treatment

Known for his psychiatric problems and radical Islamism, he underwent psychiatric medical treatment throughout his detention and after his release. "The first few months were encouraging," and he seemed to have "detached himself from religion" after his release, a security source told AFP. But this man with a "very suggestible," "very unstable" personality was once again causing concern since the spring-summer of 2022, according to the same source.

Comment: In the instances where the attacker was known by authorities, it's reasonable to suspect that, at the very least, they had foreknowledge that an attack like this would happen. In a number of instances, there's strong evidence showing that the establishment facilitated the terrorist attack.

Geopolitical analysts also foresaw that, what with the West's wholehearted support for Israel's escalation of its genocide against Palestians, the deep state would foster situations that would lead to increased terror attacks:

• British MP stabbing suspect was KNOWN to counter-terrorism program, MP reported threat days before but no action was taken (2021)
• Austria's terror attacker was known to authorities, Switzerland alerted them to ammunition purchase attempt (2020)
• Nice terrorist who was known to authorities before church attack now under formal investigation (2020)
• Car rams into crowd killing 1, injuring 5, on street in Melbourne, Australia - suspect known by police to have mental health issues (2023)

Obviously some attacks will simply be the consequence of weaponised mass migration:

• France: Protests & riots erupt after murder at village party by gang of youths, locals report 'anti-white' slurs during knife attack
• Riot breaks out in Dublin, Ireland, after Algerian migrant stabs group of children outside school

For other examples of terrorism where the attacker was known to authorities, see:

• Strasbourg Shooting: Everybody Knows Where Terror Comes From
• Convenient London Bridge Terrorist Attack Occurs Two Weeks Before General Election: UPDATES
• Manchester bombing: How British intelligence has coddled terrorists
• Joe Quinn on terror attack in Nice - should be seen in context, 'hands of Western powers extremely dirty' - PressTV
• Political Timing of Manchester Terror Attack is Suspicious
• Westminster 'Car Terror' Attack Raises Questions