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Ruth Halimi (C), mother of Ilan, and her daughter at the Paris court.
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PARIS (EJP)---Prosecutors called Tuesday for a life sentence for the leader of a Paris gang known as "The Barbarians" accused of the kidnap, torture and murder of Ilan Halimi, a young Jewish man, in 2006.
The call came as the two-month trial wound down of gang leader Youssouf Fofana, a French citizen of Ivorian descent, who admitted in the Paris court to carrying out the anti-Semitic crime that shocked France for its sheer brutality.
Most of the 29 people charged in the case were tried in youth court because they were minors at the time.
Halimi's horrific death revived old worries in France about lingering anti-Semitism and led to deep anxiety in France's Jewish community, the largest in western Europe.
Prosecutor Philippe Bilger called for 20-year sentences for two of Fofana's alleged closest accomplices in the crime committed in February 2006, and for 12 years for a young woman allegedly used to lure the victim to his doom.
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The gruesome treatment of Ilan Halimi came out during the trial. Youssouf Fofana admitted having poured an inflammable liquid on Halimi and burned and slashed him with a knife.
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He called for sentences ranging from five to 13 years for several others of Fofana's 26 alleged accomplices. As for the six jailers who kept guard over Halimi, the prosecutorr, requested jail terms of 12 to 15 years. One minor received such a recommended sentence for having burned the victim with a cigarette.
The gang is alleged to have chosen him as a victim because he was Jewish, believing that Jews are rich and that the community would unite to pay a ransom.
Bilger said that the crime was motivated by "an anti-Semitism of hatred, destruction and death.”
He said that the gang "worked for the worst possible motives, seeking money at any price and targeting Jews because, supposedly, they are rolling in it".
The court's verdict is due on July 11.
Not severe enough
Ilan Halimi, 23, was kidnapped, sequestered and subjected to torture for 24 days before he was found naked and handcuffed to a tree near a railway track on February 13, 2006. He died on the way to hospital.
The victim's family believes that the sentences requested were not severe enough, given the gravity of the crime.
"The state, by the voice of the state counsel's office, did not respond to the challenge that this crime posed. The case has been banalized," said the family's lawyer, Francis Szpiner, urging the court to hand down heavier sentences. He said Halimi's mother was feeling "bitter and let down."
The defense began its final arguments Wednesday.