Suspect in Sarah Halimi Murder Arrested After New Attack

Kobili Traoré, the man found not criminally responsible during the 2017 murder of 65-year-old Sarah Halimi, has been detained by French police on new charges. He is suspected of kidnapping and armed robbery, alleged to have occurred in Charenton-le-Pont on the outskirts of Paris. This re-arrest has revived painful memories of the case that shook France and sparked a broad debate on criminal responsibility, insanity, and the limits of justice. Sarah Halimi, a retired doctor and teacher of Jewish origin, died in April 2017 in her Paris apartment. She was beaten by Traoré and then thrown from a third-floor window. The perpetrator, who during the attack shouted anti-Semitic slurs and passages from the Quran, was under the influence of drugs. The investigation and psychiatric assessments led to the controversial December 2019 decision by the Paris Court of Appeal. The judges ruled that at the time of the act, Traoré was acting under the influence of „acute delirium induced by cannabis consumption,” which deprived him of discernment and free will. Consequently, as not criminally responsible, he could not stand criminal trial, and the case was dismissed. This decision sparked waves of outrage, social protests, and political debates demanding legal changes. The Halimi family repeatedly appealed to the French justice system, and the case even reached the Court of Cassation, which in 2021 rejected the family's appeal, upholding the insanity ruling. The current detention of Traoré is related to a completely different incident. According to media reports, the man is suspected of kidnapping and armed robbery. Details of the new charges are not yet fully known. His lawyer, Me Xavier Nogueras, commented on the arrest to the French press agency AFP, emphasizing that his client has been under psychiatric supervision for years. Meanwhile, the Halimi family's lawyer, Me Francis Szpiner, expressed mixed feelings in an interview with „Le Parisien”. He stated: „It is a shock, but also bitterness. For years we have been fighting for justice for Sarah, and now the same man is again accused of a serious crime”. The family still hopes that a trial will finally take place to determine guilt and responsibility for the death of their loved one. The Sarah Halimi case fits into the broader French context of social tensions and debate over the functioning of the justice system in cases of hate-motivated crimes and those involving individuals with mental disorders. French criminal law, like Polish law, recognizes insanity as a circumstance excluding criminal liability, which raises controversy in particularly drastic cases. The new detention calls into question the effectiveness of the supervision system for individuals deemed not criminally responsible but sentenced to treatment in a closed psychiatric facility. In Traoré's case, following the insanity ruling, he was ordered to undergo compulsory treatment. Current events suggest that supervision may have been insufficient or that his mental state still poses a threat. Debate on this topic will certainly resurface in French media and public discourse.