Suspected of financing Hamas, an association president is imprisoned in Paris

The president of an association in Gironde, in the south-west of France, was placed in pre-trial detention on Tuesday, in the judicial investigation opened in Paris on suspicion of funds reaching Hamas via humanitarian associations, AFP learned from a judicial source.

The suspect, Faouzi B., of the “Baraka” association, was indicted on Friday, like four other people. The national anti-terrorism prosecution having requested his pre-trial detention, he requested a deferred debate, in order to prepare his defense.

He appeared on Tuesday before a liberty and detention judge, who decided to imprison him, according to the judicial source. Contacted by AFP, his lawyer Lucie Simon did not wish to comment on this information. Five people, including two presidents of associations, Amel O. of “Ensemble C Mieux” and Faouzi B., were charged in Paris with “financing a terrorist enterprise, in this case Hamas”, “breach of trust by an organized gang” and “laundering of breach of trust by an organized gang in relation to a terrorist enterprise”.

Blacklisted since October 2

On October 2, the American authorities announced that they had blacklisted the two presidents of associations, in separate press releases from the American Department of Finance responsible for sanctions (OFAC) and the American Department of Justice. According to Washington, Faouzi B. and Amel O. participated for several years in a system which made it possible to collect more than two million dollars for the benefit of Hamas. “During a period of six years, from 2020 to 2026, Faouzi B., Amel O. and (Saleem) al-Zaq”, a member of the armed wing of Hamas, “collected more than two million dollars” for the Palestinian Islamist movement, “including 1.5 million collected after the Hamas attack against Israel on October 7, 2023,” assures OFAC.