Murderer of Holocaust survivor Mireille Knoll sentenced to life
A French court on Wednesday sentenced Yacine Mihoub to life in prison, with no possibility of parole for 22 years, for the 2018 murder of Holocaust survivor Mireille Knoll. A second man, Alexander Carrimbacus, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for theft with antisemitic intent.
Mireille Knoll, the 85-year-old Jewish woman brutally murdered in her apartment, was a Holocaust survivor. She had managed to evade as a child the 1942 Vel d’Hiv Nazi-directed roundup by French police of more than 13,000 Jews who were sent to Nazi death camps.
In its ruling, the court said that the murder-robbery in Knoll’s apartment in Paris had been fueled by “a broader context of antisemitism,” which had led Mihoub to believe Knoll, as a Jew, had “hidden treasures” in her home, according to France24.
Knoll, 85, was stabbed 11 times, and Mihoub, her neighbour, is alleged to have shouted Allahu Akbar (“God is great”) while killing her.
Knoll’s family lauded the court’s sentence as “just,” and Jewish groups also praised the verdict.
“Mireille Knoll survived the Holocaust only to die as the victim of violent antisemitism,” tweeted Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. “My thoughts are with her loved ones as the trial comes to an end and the perpetrator is sentenced to life in prison. May her memory forever be a blessing.”
The American Jewish Committee tweeted: “Nothing can bring her back, but at the very least justice has been served. Our thoughts are with her family today.”
Dr. Shimon Samuels, director for International Relations at the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, said in a statement, “There should be no reduction of sentences for such a heinous crime. We expect that – taking into account the antisemitic circumstances—this will represent a new step for French jurisprudence. The police and judges now have access to the [International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance] Definition and hate-crime legislation.”
StandWithUs Israel executive director Michael Dickson tweeted: “Anti-Semitism is deadly. May Mireille’s memory be a blessing.”
Report from Aaron Bandler (Jewish Journal via JNS)
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