On October 13, a terrorist attack occurred in the city of Arras in northern France: 20-year-old Mukhammad Mogushkov, a native of Russia, attacked the school where he had previously studied, killed a teacher with a knife and wounded three others. Before the attack, he shouted "Allahu Akbar." The tragedy at the school will most likely lead to the expulsion from the country of Caucasian Muslims who were unable to integrate into the European environment.
Mukhammad Mogushkov was born in Ingushetia, in the city of Malgobek, in 2003. He came to France at the age of 6 with his family, which includes three other children. He graduated from school, studied at a lyceum, and was involved in boxing. According to neighbors, his father beat the children and forced the boys to fight among themselves. In 2018, the father was deported from France for his intention to go to Syria to fight for the Islamic State terrorist group. French media reported that he was living in Georgia, but the Georgian security service denied this information.
Muhammad's older brother Movsar Mogushkov is serving a sentence for his involvement in a radical group that planned to attack the Elysee Palace. Police detained him in 2019 and sentenced him to 5 years for intent to commit a terrorist act and justifying terrorism.
According to French media reports, the Mogushkov family was to be deported allegedly because of their ties "to radical Islamists," but human rights activists stood up for them. Apparently, for the same reasons, Muhammad never received French citizenship - his last application was rejected in 2021. But, according to French law, he cannot be deported, since he arrived in the country before the age of 13.
Muhammad corresponded with his brother Movsar's cellmate and because of this he came under surveillance by the special services - he was added to the so-called "S list", which includes people who pose a threat to the country's security. The security forces tapped his phone and conducted surveillance.
After the terrorist attack, the media reported that a Chechen had attacked the school. Perhaps the confusion is due to the fact that in the 2000s, some natives of Ingushetia and Dagestan received refugee status in European countries as immigrants from Chechnya. In addition, journalists drew an analogy with the murder of Parisian teacher Samuel Paty, which was committed by Chechen Abdullah Anzorov. He beheaded the teacher on October 6, 2020, after he showed his students a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad, published by Charlie Hebdo, during a lesson on freedom of speech. Apparently, Mogushkov decided to follow his example two years later.
Shortly after Muhammad Mogushkov's arrest, 12 more people were detained, including his relatives, including his sister, who called him a "monster." On October 18, only three remained in custody: Muhammad himself, accused of murder and attempted murder in connection with a terrorist plot, his younger brother, accused of complicity, and a 15-year-old cousin who knew about the planned crime but did not report it.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin claims that the investigation sees an undeniable connection between the attack and the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Earlier, the Israeli National Security Council said that the leadership of the Palestinian movement Hamas called on its supporters around the world to hold a "Day of Wrath" on October 13 and attack Israelis and Jews.
Darmanin also said that he intends to resume contacts with the Russian authorities in order to expel unwanted immigrants from Russia from the country.
According to him, French President Emmanuel Macron gave him permission to send to Moscow the names of Russians from the "S list", which includes about 60 people, including natives of Chechnya. Forty of them are under investigation or in prison. "But the remaining two dozen may already be subject to deportation if we manage to reach an agreement with the Russian authorities," said the Minister of Internal Affairs, explaining that he intends to do this despite anti-Russian sanctions and the disapproval of the ECHR. Let us recall: over the past three years, the European Court has issued four decisions condemning France for deporting Chechens who face torture and death in Russia.
Commenting on Gerald Darmanin's statements, the Russian Embassy in France did not fail to emphasize that Mogushkov "arrived in France at the age of five and has lived in this country since then. It is quite obvious that his radicalization did not occur in Russia."
The head of the French Interior Ministry said and did: he immediately began to implement his plan and on October 30, on BFMTV, he said: "We have compiled a list of 39 Russian citizens whom we are closely monitoring and whom we suspect of radicalization. This list was sent to the Russian authorities last week." According to the minister, Moscow has already "established the identities" of the citizens in question. Now the French authorities are waiting for Russia to issue consular passes, RFI radio reported.
