Overview

• Aboubakar Cissé, a 22-year-old Malian national, was fatally stabbed approximately 50 times during morning prayers at Khadidja Mosque in La Grand-Combe on April 25.
• The suspect, Olivier H., surrendered in Pistoia, Italy, on April 27 and remains in custody awaiting extradition to France on charges of premeditated murder with hate-crime aggravation.
• Cissé’s family held a press conference at the National Assembly on April 29, denouncing the killing as motivated by anti-Muslim hatred and calling for justice.
• Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau criticized activist Assa Traoré's presence at the press conference, accusing her of political exploitation, which has fueled broader political disputes over activism and islamophobia in France.
• Olivier H. denies an islamophobic motive, claiming a sudden murderous impulse, as debates over hate-crime definitions and protections for religious minorities continue.