MARSEILLE: French prosecutors on Wednesday said that a man who wounded five people before being shot dead by police in the southern port of Marseille was “not radicalized” but suffering from “psychiatric disorders.”
Abdelkader Dibi, a 35-year-old Tunisian, stabbed several people on Tuesday at a hotel that had evicted him for non-payment, then attacked several others on a busy shopping street.
The national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office would not handle the case even though the man shouted “Allah akbar” (God is great) several times before being shot by police, Marseille public prosecutor Nicolas Bessone told reporters.
Bessone said Dibi was screened for possible radicalization after an earlier incident in June when he allegedly made antisemitic comments. “The individual did not appear to be radicalized but was suffering from psychiatric disorders,” the prosecutor said.
Dibi was known for “his violence and his addiction to both cocaine and alcohol,” the prosecutor added, saying he had a conviction for violence with a weapon against a nephew in 2023.
The Tunisian government described the killing of Dibi as an “unjustified murder.” The country’s foreign ministry said it had summoned the French embassy’s charge d’affaire to present a “strong protest.”
Three victims stabbed during Tuesday’s attack are out of danger, including a person who shared a room with Dibi and was stabbed in the heart.
A police patrol intervened and ordered Dibi to drop his weapons, but opened fire when he refused, the prosecutor said.
Marseille knife attacker ‘not radicalized’: French prosecutors
https://arab.news/4k2bp
Marseille knife attacker ‘not radicalized’: French prosecutors
- Abdelkader Dibi, a 35-year-old Tunisian, stabbed several people on Tuesday at a hotel that had evicted him for non-payment
- Police said Dibi was suffering from “psychiatric disorders” and was known “his violence and his addiction to both cocaine and alcohol”
Brazil’s Lula urges Trump to treat all countries equally
NEW DELHI: Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva urged Donald Trump on Sunday to treat all countries equally after the US leader imposed a 15 percent tariff on imports following an adverse Supreme Court ruling.
“I want to tell the US President Donald Trump that we don’t want a new Cold War. We don’t want interference in any other country, we want all countries to be treated equally,” Lula told reporters in New Delhi.
The conservative-majority Supreme Court ruled six to three on Friday that a 1977 law Trump has relied on to slap sudden levies on individual countries, upending global trade, “does not authorize the President to impose tariffs.”
Lula said he would not like to react to the Supreme Court decisions of another country, but hoped that Brazil’s relations with the United States “will go back to normalcy” soon.
The veteran leftist leader is expected to travel to Washington next month for a meeting with Trump.
“I am convinced that Brazil-US relation will go back to normalcy after our conversation,” Lula, 80, said, adding that Brazil only wanted to “live in peace, generate jobs, and improve the lives of our people.”
Lula and Trump, 79, stand on polar opposite sides when it comes to issues such as multilateralism, international trade and the fight against climate change.
However, ties between Brazil and the United States appear to be on the mend after months of animosity between Washington and Brasilia.
As a result, Trump’s administration has exempted key Brazilian exports from 40 percent tariffs that had been imposed on the South American country last year.
‘Affinity’
“The world doesn’t need more turbulence, it needs peace,” said Lula, who arrived in India on Wednesday for a summit on artificial intelligence and a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Ties between Washington and Brasilia soured in recent months, with Trump angered over the trial and conviction of his ally, the far-right former Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro.
Trump imposed sanctions against several top officials, including a Supreme Court judge, to punish Brazil for what he termed a “witch hunt” against Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison for his role in a botched coup bid after his 2022 election loss to Lula.
Lula said that, as the two largest democracies in the Americas, he looked forward to a positive relationship with the United States.
“We are two men of 80 years of age, so we cannot play around with democracy,” he said.
“We have to take this very seriously. We have to shake hands eye-to-eye, person-to-person, and to discuss what is best for the US and Brazil.”
Lula also praised Modi after India and Brazil agreed to boost cooperation on critical minerals and rare earths and signed a raft of other deals on Saturday.
“I have a lot of affinity with Prime Minister Modi,” he said.
Lula will travel to South Korea later on Sunday for meetings with President Lee Jae Myung and to attend a business forum.
