Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Biodun Iginla, BBC News
Showing posts with label Alexandre Bissonnette. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alexandre Bissonnette. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Canada: Trudeau official blasts Fox News over 'false' tweet on shooting



by Rochelle van Amber and Biodun Iginla, France24, Ottawa

    © AFP | Messages are left at a make-shift memorial near the mosque where a gunman killed six people in Quebec City

    OTTAWA - 
    A senior official in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government blasted US television network Fox News for a "false" tweet claiming a Moroccan was the suspect in the Quebec mosque mass shooting.
    Kate Purchase, Trudeau's communications director, demanded that Fox News retract or fix the Twitter message, noting that police had released that suspect Monday after they determined he had not been an accomplice in Sunday's attack.
    The Fox News tweet posted at midday Monday on Twitter "contains false and misleading language relating to the identity of the suspect in the Quebec mosque terror attack," Purchase said in a letter to Fox News co-president Bill Shine obtained by AFP.
    "Over the course of the day, this proved to be false information. In fact, the suspect was identified as a 27-year-old French Canadian -- not ?someone of Moroccan origin," she wrote.
    "Sadly, this misleading information has been left to stand on the Fox News Channel's twitter account and continued to circulate online even now."
    Amid the uproar, Fox News later deleted the tweet.
    Six people were killed in the attack at the Sainte-Foy mosque during evening prayers and eight were wounded.
    The suspect in the shooting spree, Alexandre Bissonnette, was arrested after surrendering to authorities. He was charged Monday with six counts of premeditated murder and five counts of attempted murder.
    "These tweets by Fox News dishonor the memory of the six victims and their families by spreading misinformation, playing identity politics, and perpetuating fear and division within our communities," Purchase said in the letter.
    The Canadian government spokeswoman also appeared to criticize US President Donald Trump, who issued a controversial executive order temporarily halting refugee arrivals and blocking immigrants from seven Muslim nations as part of an effort to stop "radical Islamic terrorism."
    "We need to remain focused on keeping our communities safe and united instead of trying to build walls and scapegoat communities," Purchase said, noting that Muslims are the group most victimized by terrorist acts around the world.
    "To paint terrorists with a broad brush that extends to all Muslims is not just ignorant -- it is irresponsible," she said.
    "For all of these reasons, we ask that Fox News either retract or update the tweet to reflect the suspect's actual identity."
    By 0030 GMT, the network had deleted the tweet, saying: "we regret the error."
    "Thank You," Purchase tweeted. "We appreciate it."


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    Monday, January 30, 2017

    Quebec mosque attack: Student Alexandre Bissonnette charged


    Alexandre BissonnetteImage copyrightFACEBOOK
    Image captionA picture circulated by local media of a man identified as Alexandre Bissonnette
    by Rochelle van Amber and Biodun Iginla,  BBC News, Quebec City 
    Canadian police have charged a French-Canadian student over the fatal shooting of six Muslim worshippers at a mosque in Quebec.
    Alexandre Bissonnette faces six counts of first-degree murder and five of attempted murder.
    The 27-year-old briefly appeared in a Quebec City court over Sunday evening's attack, during evening prayers at the Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre.
    Vigils have been held across Canada to commemorate those killed and injured.
    Media captionPrime Minister Justin Trudeau: "They were robbed of their lives in an act of brutal violence"
    More than 50 people were at the mosque when the shooting erupted just before 20:00 on Sunday.
    Nineteen people were wounded - all men - and of five people still in hospital, two were in a critical condition.
    A man of Moroccan heritage who was also arrested after the attack, Mohamed Khadir, is now being treated as a witness.
    Quebec provincial police have released the names of all six victims who were killed:
    • Father-of-three Azzeddine Soufiane, 57, a grocer and butcher
    • Khaled Belkacemi, 60, a professor in the food science department at Laval University
    • Father-of-three, Abdelkrim Hassen, 41, an IT worker for the government
    • Aboubaker Thabti, 44, and two Guinean nationals, Mamadou Tanou Barry, 42, and Ibrahima Barry, 39
    Map
    Mr Bissonnette did not enter a plea as he appeared in court on Monday, wearing a white prison-issue jump suit, his hands and feet shackled.
    The suspect was arrested in his car on a bridge leading from Quebec City to Ile d'Orleans, where he called police to say he wanted to cooperate with the authorities.
    According to local media, Mr Bissonnette studied political science and anthropology at Laval University, whose campus is about 3km (two miles) away from the mosque.
    The Montreal Gazette reports that the suspect dressed up as the Grim Reaper for Halloween, according to his Facebook page, which has now been taken offline.
    On the social network, he also reportedly "liked" US President Donald Trump and French National Front leader Marine Le Pen.
    Francois Deschamps, an official with an advocacy group, Welcome to Refugees, said the suspect was known for his far-right views.
    "It's with pain and anger that we learn the identity of terrorist Alexandre Bissonnette, unfortunately known to many activists in Quebec for taking nationalist, pro-Le Pen and anti-feminist positions at Laval University and on social media," Mr Deschamps wrote on organisation's Facebook page.

    At the scene - Jessica Murphy, BBC News

    The streets around the mosque are mostly deserted except for the police investigators milling around the cordoned-off site.
    Noemie Roussel Paradis is standing alone across from the empty mosque holding a Koran. She is a proud convert to Islam and came to pay her respects after "this murder, this attack, this act of terrorism", even though this was not the mosque where she prays.
    "This is Allah's home, and there was blood spilled on the floor," she said.
    She said it's likely that she shared a Ramadan meal with one of the people who was in the mosque during the attack. "The only thing we can do now is cry and hope that Allah will make those responsible face their actions," she said.
    Nearby, Martin St-Louis is holding a large wooden board, its painted message carrying a call for peace.
    "Where terror stands or walks, peace must stand," he said. "I'm no philosopher or priest, but for those people who fall, we have to stand."
    Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard both described the shooting as a terrorist attack.
    Addressing the more than one million Muslims who live in Canada, Mr Trudeau said: "We are with you.
    "Thirty-six million hearts are breaking with yours. Know that we value you."
    Philippe Couillard Quebec prime minister, Khaled El Kacemi, vice president of the Islamic Cultural Center of Quebec and Regis Labeaume Quebec city mayor hold a press conference.Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
    Image captionKhaled El Kacemi, vice-president of the Islamic Cultural Center of Quebec, grieves during a news conference
    The shooting came amid heightened global tensions over Mr Trump's travel ban on seven Muslim countries.
    But the White House, which condemned the attack, said it was also an example of why the US president's policies were needed.
    White House spokesman Sean Spicer said: "It's a terrible reminder of why we must remain vigilant and why the president is taking steps to be pro-active, rather than reactive when it comes to our nation's safety and security."
    Media captionA Muslim leader in the city says he is not surprised by the attack
    The mosque has been a target of hate crimes in the past, including last summer when a pig's head was left on its doorstep during Ramadan.
    Mohamed Labidi, vice-president of the Islamic centre, said the victims had been shot in the back.
    "Security at our mosque was our major, major concern," Mr Labidi said tearfully. "But we were caught off-guard."
    Media captionmontreal english
    The predominantly French-speaking province of Quebec has welcomed thousands of immigrants from Arab countries and other nations.
    But there has been a longstanding debate over the "reasonable accommodation" of immigrants and religious minorities.

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