Overview
- National antiterrorism prosecutors opened a judicial inquiry for participation in a terrorist criminal association and obtained formal charges and pretrial detention for the suspects.
- The men, aged 26 to 38 and reported as French and Daghestani, were arrested on 13 October by DGSI officers in the Paris region and Loire-Atlantique.
- Vladimir Ossetchkine, who leads the rights group Gulagu.net, confirmed he was the target in Biarritz and said he is safe under protection.
- Authorities say the preliminary investigation began on 19 September, and recovered April videos showing Ossetchkine’s residence and a place he frequents.
- Investigators are seeking to identify any organizer or sponsor, with possible Russian intelligence involvement treated as a working hypothesis rather than established fact.