Jerôme Courtailler is a French radical Islamic extremist convicted of belonging to a terrorist organization.

Travel

Jerôme later traveled first to

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, and later attended an

Afghan training camp Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity **Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pash ...

, and is believed to have played a role in supplying the forged documents to the two men who assassinated

Ahmed Shah Massoud ) , branch = Jamiat-e Islami / Shura-e Nazar Afghan Armed Forces United Islamic Front , serviceyears = 1975–2001 , rank = General , unit = , commands = Mujahideen commander during the Soviet–Afghan WarC ...

in September 2001.Vidino, Lorenzo. "Al-Qaeda in Europe", 2006. Prometheus Books Upon returning to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, he was placed on the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

terrorist watchlist. The French police were alerted of this after he was arrested for

shoplifting Shoplifting is the theft of goods from an open retail establishment, typically by concealing a store item on one's person, in pockets, under clothes or in a bag, and leaving the store without paying. With clothing, shoplifters may put on items ...

a pair of shoes in

Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples or pears, or from apples with pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Norm ...

Life

Courtailler grew up in an Alpine town. His father was a butcher who went bankrupt, divorced his mother, and moved to work in a meatpacking plant far away. He was raised

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, and when to a Catholic school. He became addicted to drugs before converting to Islam at a Brighton mosque in 1996. Shortly thereafter he stayed in

Zacarias Moussaoui Zacarias Moussaoui (Arabic: زكريا موسوي, '; born May 30, 1968) is a French member of al-Qaeda who pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court to conspiring to kill citizens of the United States as part of the September 11 attacks. He is serv ...

's apartment, and afterwards travelled to an Al Qaeda's Khalden training camp in Afghanistan.

Conviction for militant links and embassy plot

Courtailler was held in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, suspected of attempting to blow up the U.S. Embassy in France. In 2002 the case was dismissed since information was obtained from illegally obtained wiretaps, however in 2004 following an appeal he was convicted ''

in absentia is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent". may also refer to: * Award in absentia * Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body * Election in absen ...

'' of belonging to a terrorist organization and sentenced to six years in prison.Europe Fears Islamic Converts May Give Cover for Extremism
New York Times, 19 July 2004 He turned himself in shortly thereafter.

References

Converts to Islam French al-Qaeda members Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{crime-bio-stub