Lawyer: Father of slain gunman Merah to sue French police

Report by JENIFERLAMUG

Mohamed Benalel Merah, the father of slain extremist Mohamed Merah plans to sue French elite police for shooting his son dead on a raid last week, his lawyer said.

Reportedly, Merah suggested on French television and elsewhere that he would pursue the French state for the death of his son, which also had raised the hackles of Sarkozy and the rest of the French political establishment.

Algerian lawyer Zahia Mokhtari told AFP in Algiers on Friday that said legal action, however, will not be taken against the French state "but against RAID (the elite police unit).

The 23-year-old Merah was killed by a RAID sniper on March 22 after a 32-hour siege at his flat in Toulouse in southern France.

Merah of Algerian descent who killed seven people in south-western France, was buried in the country after Algerian authorities denied permission of burial due to security reason, said French Muslim official Abdallah Zekri in a report.

Meanwhile, Abdelkader, the killer’s older brother is now behind bars on preliminary charges for complicity in murder and terrorism. Though there is not any evidence yet against him, police suspected him as the biggest accomplice.

An abandoned car, a grey Renault Clio which contained parts of a Yamaha Tmax scooter Merah had used, was discovered on late Wednesday by residents near Toulouse and police considered the idea that it has possible links to Merah and the attacks.

Investigators are still looking for potential accomplice.