Walid Abdulrahman Abu Zayed has been extradited to France over his links to a 1982 attack in Paris that killed six people. AFP / NTB / Terje Bendiksby
Walid Abdulrahman Abu Zayed has been extradited to France over his links to a 1982 attack in Paris that killed six people. AFP / NTB / Terje Bendiksby
Walid Abdulrahman Abu Zayed has been extradited to France over his links to a 1982 attack in Paris that killed six people. AFP / NTB / Terje Bendiksby
Walid Abdulrahman Abu Zayed has been extradited to France over his links to a 1982 attack in Paris that killed six people. AFP / NTB / Terje Bendiksby

Paris attack suspect to appear in court four decades later


Nicky Harley
  • English
  • Arabic

A suspect in the 1982 Rue des Rosiers attack on a cafe in Paris, which left six people dead, is due to appear in court in France.

Walid Abdulrahman Abu Zayed was extradited to France from Norway on Friday.

The 62-year-old landed at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport from Oslo, where he had been living since 1991.

He is due to appear before an anti-terrorism judge on Saturday.

He was arrested in September in the town of Skien south-west of Oslo and Norway approved his extradition on November 27.

The attack on a Jewish restaurant in the Marais area of the French capital which killed six and injured 22 on August 9, 1982 has been attributed to the Abu Nidal Organisation, which splintered from the militant Palestinian Fatah group.

Rescuers in the Rue des Rosiers after the French-Jewish delicatessen restaurant Jo Goldenberg was attacked on August 9, 1982, in Paris by gunmen that threw a grenade into the restaurant and shot at customers. AFP / Jacques DEMARTHON
Rescuers in the Rue des Rosiers after the French-Jewish delicatessen restaurant Jo Goldenberg was attacked on August 9, 1982, in Paris by gunmen that threw a grenade into the restaurant and shot at customers. AFP / Jacques DEMARTHON

Mr Abu Zayed has denied being involved in the attack which saw up to five men open fire and throw grenades into the restaurant.

"My husband never killed anyone. He has never been in France," his wife told AFP in 2015 in response to an international arrest warrant issued by France.

Mr Abu Zayed claims he was in Monte Carlo at the time of the attack.

Opposing his extradition, he told Norwegian authorities: "I don't like France. I don't want to go to prison in France."

Mr Abu Zayed, a Palestinian born in 1958 in the West Bank who became a Norwegian national in 1997, is wanted for murder and attempted murder.

French authorities have issued arrest warrants over the attack, against two suspects in Jordan and another believed to be in the West Bank.

In 2019, Jordan refused to extradite one of the suspects because the case was too old, dashing the hopes of victims' families that the perpetrators would finally be brought to justice.

The case has also been the subject of speculation of deals between France and the Abu Nidal Organisation.

Lawyers for the bereaved say documents give credence to the idea that French intelligence guaranteed the group it would not face prosecution so long as it did not carry out any more attacks in France.

Former head of the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DST) Yves Bonnet admitted during a hearing there was an "unwritten contract" between the two sides, according to Le Parisien newspaper.

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If you go

The flights

Etihad flies direct from Abu Dhabi to San Francisco from Dh5,760 return including taxes. 

The car

Etihad Guest members get a 10 per cent worldwide discount when booking with Hertz, as well as earning miles on their rentals. A week's car hire costs from Dh1,500 including taxes.

The hotels

Along the route, Motel 6 (www.motel6.com) offers good value and comfort, with rooms from $55 (Dh202) per night including taxes. In Portland, the Jupiter Hotel (https://jupiterhotel.com/) has rooms from $165 (Dh606) per night including taxes. The Society Hotel https://thesocietyhotel.com/ has rooms from $130 (Dh478) per night including taxes. 

More info

To keep up with constant developments in Portland, visit www.travelportland.com. Good guidebooks include the Lonely Planet guides to Northern California and Washington, Oregon & the Pacific Northwest. 

 

ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA

Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi

Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser

Rating: 4.5/5

What can you do?

Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses

Seek professional advice from a legal expert

You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor

You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline

In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support

A new relationship with the old country

Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates

The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:

ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.

ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.

ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.

ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.

DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.

Signed

Geoffrey Arthur  Sheikh Zayed

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The most expensive investment mistake you will ever make

When is the best time to start saving in a pension? The answer is simple – at the earliest possible moment. The first pound, euro, dollar or dirham you invest is the most valuable, as it has so much longer to grow in value. If you start in your twenties, it could be invested for 40 years or more, which means you have decades for compound interest to work its magic.

“You get growth upon growth upon growth, followed by more growth. The earlier you start the process, the more it will all roll up,” says Chris Davies, chartered financial planner at The Fry Group in Dubai.

This table shows how much you would have in your pension at age 65, depending on when you start and how much you pay in (it assumes your investments grow 7 per cent a year after charges and you have no other savings).

Age

$250 a month

$500 a month

$1,000 a month

25

$640,829

$1,281,657

$2,563,315

35

$303,219

$606,439

$1,212,877

45

$131,596

$263,191

$526,382

55

$44,351

$88,702

$177,403