France charges 4 for alleged links to gunman, unveils security measures

Four suspects have been charged with assisting the gunman who French authorities said fatally shot a policewoman and killed four people in a hostage drama at a Jewish supermarket nearly two weeks ago, Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins said Wednesday.

The announcement of the arrests came amid Prime Minister Manuel Valls' announcement of sweeping new measures to counter homegrown violent extremism, including giving security forces better weapons and protection.

Outlining a web of phone calls and prison friendships, Molins said the four suspects given preliminary charges — all in their 20s and all arrested in the Paris region — will remain behind bars while the investigation continues. He identified them only as Willy P., Christophe R., Tonino G. and Mickael A.

Three of the men are suspected of buying weapons — and one allegedly kept them at his house — for Amedy Coulibaly, who shot a policewoman to death Jan. 8 on the outskirts of Paris and then a day later killed four hostages at a kosher supermarket before being killed in a police raid.

Three of the four suspects charged had criminal records; at least one met Coulibaly in prison, Molins said. Coulibaly himself had met Cherif Kouachi, one of the two suspected gunmen in the attack on Paris-based satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo , in prison.

The DNA of Mickael A. was found on a revolver in Coulibaly's apartment and on a glove the gunman wore in the supermarket, Molins said. Mickael A. also had 18 phone contacts with Coulibaly on Jan. 6.

Molins said three of the men are believed to have procured weapons and tactical material for Coulibaly, but they are not charged with complicity in the attacks. The lawyer for one of those charged said his client was unaware of any terrorist plot, and feared Coulibaly since being roughed up by him six years ago.

"Coulibaly is known in this neighborhood as an outlaw, a big shot. People were afraid of him," said the lawyer, Fabrice Delinde. He would not identify his client for security reasons. "He (the client) acted as an intermediary so that Coulibaly would not be buying weapons directly. He was forced. If he refused, he would have been beaten," the lawyer told The Associated Press. 

Meanwhile, the new security measures announced by Prime Minister Valls included increasing intelligence-gathering on extremists, in part by making it easier to tap phones. Valls said Internet providers and social networks "have a legal responsibility under French law" to comply with the new measure, giving a broad outline of the new measures in a televised address. 

"It’s up to us to act, and with the greatest determination. We have to take all the necessary measures, which we have just done under the authority of the French president. Knowing that action against terrorism, against radical Islam, will be a long-term struggle," Valls said.  

Some 2,600 counter-terrorism officers will be hired, 1,100 of them specifically for intelligence services. Anti-terror surveillance is needed for 3,000 people with ties to France — some at home, others abroad, the prime minister said.

Since three police were among those killed in the Paris attacks, Valls said improving officers' weapons and protective gear was among the top priorities. France will spend $490 million over the next three years for all the counter-terror efforts, he said.

France has repeatedly strengthened such laws in recent years, including a measure passed in November that focused on preventing French extremists from joining fighters abroad. Another measure — expected to be activated in the coming weeks — would allow authorities to ask Internet service providers to block sites that glorify violent extremist acts.

Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, head of France's national data protection agency CNIL, told reporters Wednesday her agency would insist that any additional snooping privileges for France's intelligence services should only be allowed if they are matched by greater protections for personal data. 

Al Jazeera and wire services