Hayat Boumeddiene

Hayat Boumeddiene (born 26 June 1988)[1] is currently being sought by French police as a suspected accomplice of her common law husband Amedy Coulibaly, who was the main suspect for the Montrouge shooting, in which municipal police officer Clarissa Jean-Philippe was shot and killed, and was the hostage-taker and gunman in the Porte de Vincennes siege, in which he killed four hostages and was killed by police.[2][3][4][5]

Hayat Boumeddiene
Born (1988-06-26) 26 June 1988
Villiers-sur-Marne, Val-de-Marne, France
Disappeared10 January 2015 (aged 26)
Tell Abyad, Syria
NationalityFrench
Known forSuspected accomplice of Amedy Coulibaly
Criminal statusWanted by France since January 2015
Spouse(s)Amedy Coulibaly
(2009–15; his death)

According to Coulibaly's attorney, she was the more radical of the two.[6] She is currently being sought by French police as a suspected accomplice of Coulibaly, alleged to have helped him commit his attacks. She arrived in Turkey five days before the attacks, was described by newspapers as "France's most wanted woman", and was last tracked on 10 January 2015 to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant-controlled border town of Tell Abyad in Syria.[7][8] Hasna Ait Boulahcen who was killed in the later Paris attacks was a fan of hers and lauded her on Facebook.[9][10] Though not yet captured, Boumeediene would be convicted in absentia by a French court in December 2020 and handed a 30 year prison sentence.[11]

Biography

Boumeddiene was born into an Algerian immigrant family of seven children, in Villiers-sur-Marne in the eastern suburbs of Paris.[12][13] Her mother died when Boumeddiene was 8. She and some of her siblings were subsequently taken into foster care. Her father was an infrequent visitor, even more so apparently after he remarried when she was 12.[14] She told detectives that she changed carers numerous times because she was beaten often.[15] An investigative source said she altered her surname in her teenage years to "make it sound more French".[12] Boumeddiene was employed as a cashier in 2007 when she met and began dating Coulibaly in Juvisy-sur-Orge, southeast of Paris.[16] On 5 July 2009, they got married in an Islamic religious ceremony.[14] She and Coulibaly lived in Bagneux, a southern suburb of Paris, and were very religious.[12]

In 2010, during four days of questioning after police discovered large amounts of assault rifle ammunition in their flat, Boumeddiene told counter-terrorism officers that she saw some terrorist attacks as justifiable.[12][17] She told investigators that she and Coulibaly had visited French-Algerian jihadist terrorist Djamel Beghal "for crossbow practice."[12][18]

In October 2014, she and Coulibaly went to perform the Hajj in Mecca, the pilgrimage obligatory for every Muslim who is able to do so.[14] Police say Boumeddiene was frequently in contact with Chérif Kouachi's wife, including 500 calls between them in 2014.[19] She and Coulibaly disappeared in December 2014.[12]

Escape and manhunt

According to Spanish authorities, Coulibaly drove Boumeddiene from France to Madrid, Spain, on 31 December 2014, and stayed with her until 2 January 2015.[20] According to Turkish authorities, on 2 January 2015 Boumeddiene flew from Madrid to Istanbul, Turkey, with 23-year-old Mahdi Sabri Belhoucine, a French citizen of North African origin whose brother Mohammed was convicted of terrorism charges in 2010 in France and imprisoned for a year in Villepinte prison, and both had return tickets dated 9 January that they never used.[21][22][23][24][25][12][26] Because of her "suspicious behavior," Turkey's intelligence agency (the National Intelligence Organisation (MİT)) put her under surveillance, following her movements for two days, listening to her cellphone conversations, and tracking her cellphone until she left Turkey.[27][28][29][30] While in Turkey, the two stayed at a hotel in Istanbul in adjoining rooms, according to Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.[31] Turkish officials said she and Mahdi Sabri Belhoucine left Istanbul for Şanlıurfa in southeastern Turkey close to the Syrian border on 4 January. They stayed there four days, during which time Boumeddiene phoned France several times.[24][25][32]

Map of Akçakale, Turkey, and Tell Abyad, Syria, where Boumeddiene was last tracked

Boumeddiene is believed to have then crossed the Syria–Turkey border into Syria with Sabri on 8 January, on the day Coulibaly shot and killed a policewoman, using her car in the attack.[32][33][34] Çavuşoğlu said: "We understand this thanks to telephone recordings."[35] The last recorded phone call from her was on 10 January, from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant-controlled town of Tell Abyad in Syria, close to the border and directly across it from Akçakale.[24][29][36] The New York Times stated that she "is reported to have fled abroad, possibly to Syria to try and join the Islamic State, to which Mr. Coulibaly declared allegiance".[37]

Boumeddiene is currently being sought in connection with having allegedly helped Coulibaly commit his attacks, and has been described by newspapers as "France's most wanted woman".[38][30][39][40][41][42] She is described by French police as "armed and extremely dangerous", having trained to use firearms, and is on the run.[43] A French police official said Boumeddiene is part of a terrorist cell of about eight people.[44][45]

In February 2015, French authorities were investigating whether a woman in a video released 3 February by French-speaking ISIS fighters might be Boumeddiene. The video, titled Blow Up France 2, shows a woman standing next to the ISIS speaker, wearing camouflage clothing and holding a weapon.[46] The Islamic State's magazine Dabiq praised her in a long interview, and Hasna Aitboulahcen who was killed in the later Paris attacks was a fan of hers and lauded her on Facebook.[9][10]

In March 2019, Dorothee Maquere – wife of Fabien Clain – claimed that Boumeddiene was killed in late February during the Battle of Baghuz Fawqani.[47] Maquere claimed that Boumeddiene was killed when an airstrike struck an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant safehouse containing various French jihadists. These claims were corroborated by other evacuees, however, they could not be confirmed.[48]

In March 2020, a French jihadist woman told a judge that she met Boumeddiene in October 2019 at the Al Howl camp; Boumeddiene was staying under a false identity and managed to escape.[49] French intelligence services think that this piece of information is plausible.

French conviction and sentencing

On December 16, 2020, a French court convicted Boumeddiene in absentia of financing terrorism and belonging to a criminal terrorist network and sentenced her to 30 years in jail.[11]

See also

References
  1. Gardner, Bill (10 January 2015). "Armed and dangerous: the hunt for Hayat Boumeddiene". Telegraph. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  2. Video: Hayat Boumeddiene arriving in Turkey, Al Arabiya News
  3. "Paris attacks: Police hunt kosher grocery store gunman's girlfriend Hayat Boumeddiene as pictures of her firing crossbows emerge". The Independent.
  4. "Attack suspect was known to French authorities". Washington Post. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  5. "The End of the Sieges in France". The New Yorker. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  6. Jake Tapper; Katie Hinman; Saskya Vandoorne (12 January 2015). "Female terror suspect more radical than boyfriend?". CNN.
  7. "Islamic State magazine interviews Hayat Boumeddiene". Guardian.com. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
  8. Young Woman Killed in Paris Raid Led Troubled Life, The Wall Street Journal
  9. For Woman Dead in French Police Raid, Unlikely Path to Terror, The New York Times
  10. The French female extremist’s curious path to Islamist violence, The Washington Post
  11. Salaün, Tangi (December 16, 2020). "French court finds accomplices to Charlie Hebdo attackers guilty". Reuters. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  12. "Paris shootings: France's most wanted woman Hayat Boumeddiene has 'escaped to Syria'". The Telegraph. 10 January 2015.
  13. "Increasing Number Of Western Women Flee To Syria". NPR. 14 January 2015.
  14. François Labrouillère et Aurélie Raya (30 January 2015). "Hayat Boumeddiene et Amedy Coulibaly – Le destin monstrueux d'un couple ordinaire". Paris Match (in French).
  15. "Paris Shooter's Girlfriend Told Police That People Have The Right To 'Take Up Arms Against The Oppressors'". Business Insider. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  16. Labrouillère, François. "Le destin monstrueux d'un couple ordinaire". Paris Match. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  17. "Hayat Boumeddiene: France's most wanted woman 'had sister living in Britain'". Telegraph. 14 January 2015.
  18. "France's most wanted woman may have traveled to Syria, reports say". Fox News. Archived from the original on 2015-01-13. Retrieved 2015-10-02.
  19. "Terrorists' Web of Hate Extends Far Beyond France". The Huffington Post.
  20. "Spain: French gunman traveled to Madrid before attacking". SFGate.
  21. Noémie Bisserbe, Benoît Faucon And Stacy Meichtry (30 January 2015). "Underground Terror Network Said to Benefit Would-Be Jihadists in Europe". The Wall Street Journal.
  22. "Latest local news from San Luis Obispo, CA – The Tribune". sanluisobispo.com. Archived from the original on 2015-01-19.
  23. "Paris suspect Hayat Boumeddiene 'caught on Turkey CCTV'". BBC News.
  24. "Who is Hayat Boumeddiene?". BBC Newsbeat.
  25. "How the female terror suspect fled Europe unnoticed". CBS News. 12 January 2015.
  26. "Video shows woman wanted in Paris attacks". Washington Post. 12 January 2015.
  27. "Suspected Paris Accomplice Hayat Boumeddiene Crossed Into Syria: Official". NBC News.
  28. "Paris attack: Hayat Boumeddiene entered Syria, says Turkey, insisting it's not at fault". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  29. "Local News". Fresno Bee. Archived from the original on 2015-01-18.
  30. "Paris Attacks: Is Accomplice Hayat Boumedienne Now in ISIS Town?". NBC News.
  31. "Turkey: Wife Of Paris Terror Suspect Crossed Into Syria". USA Today. 12 January 2015.
  32. "Turkish Press Review – Monday, January 12, 2015". Turkish Press. 12 January 2015.
  33. Proche des frères Kouachi, la compagne de Coulibaly aurait quitté la France – France 24 10 January 2015
  34. Kim Hjelmgaard (12 January 2015). "Kerry to travel to Paris for anti-extremist talks". USA Today.
  35. "Turkish security collected fingerprints of French jihadist's wanted partner – CRIME". Hurriyet Daily News.
  36. Frank Nordhausen. "Charlie Hebdo: Die Spur führt nach Syrien" (in German).
  37. French Police Say Suspect in Attack Evolved From Petty Criminal to Terrorist, The New York Times
  38. Stacy Meichtry; David Gauthier-Villars; Noémie Bisserbe (10 January 2015). "Charlie Hebdo Attack: French Police Kill Gunmen in Two Places". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  39. "France's most-wanted woman: Hayat Boumeddiene". Yahoo News. 10 January 2015.
  40. "Video: Hayat Boumeddiene: France's most wanted – in 60 seconds". The Telegraph. 13 January 2015.
  41. "What do we know about the Kouachi brothers?". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  42. "Evidence grows that France's most wanted woman is in Syria". euronews.
  43. "'Wife' of Kosher supermarket killer 'armed and dangerous' and on the run, police warn". nyooztrend.com. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  44. Noémie Bisserbe; Daniel Michaels; Stacy Meichtry; Joe Parkinson (10 January 2015). "Partner of Paris Gunman Believed to Be in Syria". Wall Street Journal.
  45. Doug Stanglin; Jane Onyanga-Omara (13 January 2015). "French police link terrorist cell to foreign financing". USA Today.
  46. cnn.com , 4 February 2015 kosher grocery attack boumedienne
  47. El Deeb, Sarah (5 March 2019). "rench jihadis killed in last Islamic State holdout in Syria". PBS NewsHour. PBS. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  48. El Deeb, Sarah (4 March 2019). "Prominent French jihadis killed in IS-held area in Syria". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  49. "Hayat Boumeddiene vivante ? Une enquête ouverte après qu'une jihadiste affirme l'avoir croisée dans un camp en Syrie". France 2. 14 May 2020.
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