Kobili Traoré, the man who tortured and killed 64-year-old Jewish doctor Sarah Halimi in her Paris home in 2017 but did not face a criminal trial, has been arrested over a violent robbery.
Traoré and two other men have been accused of entering an apartment, spraying their 40-year-old victim with tear gas, attacking him, tying him to a chair and stealing valuables worth between 50,000 and 100,000 euros.
According to news reports the victim had been a drug dealer to the three suspects.
Sarah Halimi’s brother, William Attal, hopes the recent arrest of Traoré may encourage prosecutors to reopen the case over her killing.
In the Halimi case, France’s highest court ruled against a criminal trial of Traoré because, it was claimed, he had suffered a psychotic episode on the night he attacked her and threw her off her balcony.
“New elements in the case could prove that Kobili Traoré was fully aware of his actions and that he has attacked several people,” Attal told the JC. “There is also a recording of the killing that could be improved through artificial intelligence.”
Protests erupted in 2017 when courts ruled against a criminal trial for Traoré, whose psychotic episode on the day of Halimi’s killing, psychiatrists claimed, had been prompted by the consumption of cannabis.
On April 4, 2017, he first entered an apartment neighbouring Halimi’s flat. He then went to their balcony, crossed onto Halimi’s own balcony and entered her apartment.
Traoré beat Halimi, who screamed, leading several neighbours to alert police, who arrived within minutes. Neighbours described how Traoré shouted that Halimi was Satan and recited verses from the Koran.
The Diarra family, who lived in the flat that Traoré passed through to get to Halimi, threw their keys to police, who did not intervene to save her. He then threw Halimi off the balcony.
One psychiatrist said at the time that Traoré should be tried because he deliberately took drugs that caused his psychotic episode and therefore carried some responsibility for his actions, but two other groups of psychiatrists disagreed.
French newspapers reported that Traoré had recently been released from psychiatric care when the recent violent break-in took place.
Traoré was placed in a secure psychiatric unit after the Halimi killing. In 2023, he was reportedly transferred to a facility preparing patients for discharge from psychiatric hospital.
A parliamentary probe was carried out to understand what happened on that night of the Halimi killing and police forces were questioned about their handling of the event.
Subsequently the French parliament passed a law saying that if someone takes drugs with the intent of committing a crime, they can be tried no matter their state during the crime.
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