French jihadist linked to Charlie Hebdo attackers stands trial for terrorism-related offences

A French jihadist, who was close to the brothers behind the 2015 massacre at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, went on trial in Paris on Monday.

Peter Cherif, also known as Abou Hamza, was arrested in Djibouti in 2018 after years allegedly fighting in the ranks of Al-Qaeda in the Middle East.

He is being tried for terrorism-related offences allegedly committed between 2011 and 2018, and the 2011 kidnapping of three French aid workers in Yemen.

In 2015, Cherif was placed on a US blacklist as a member of the Yemen-based militant group Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

Cherif, 42, was linked to a Paris jihadist cell and was named in the enquiry into the January 2015 attack on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, due to his regular contact with the perpetrators, brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi.

Read more: France 24