A 13-year-old schoolboy was arrested in France earlier this month after showing worrying signs of radicalization including sharing Islamic State propaganda videos with friends and setting up social media accounts in the name of prominent jihadists.
According to French news outlet Actu 17, the teen from Viry-Châtillon, a southern suburb of Paris, was arrested on Dec. 9 and placed in police custody before being presented to a juvenile judge.
He is understood to have distributed jihadist content with contacts on the social media platform Snapchat that purported to show jihadists affirming it was necessary to fight in Syria “against the French,” as well as “public executions, bombings and scenes of war in Syria,” according to a source close to the case.
Concerning scenes of the minor’s radicalization included his refusal in recent weeks to speak to girls and his wearing of a ring bearing the symbol of the terrorist organization.
He had also told friends that it was necessary to “kill all the disbelievers” and had unveiled a flag of the Islamic State terror cell in his bedroom.
“He also told his parents that he wanted to join Daesh in Syria and opened an account on the TikTok social network in the name of a jihadist,” the same source added.
Following the end of his police custody, the suspect was presented before a juvenile judge. He has been placed under judicial supervision and remains subject to a provisional educational measure as he awaits trial, which is scheduled for Jan. 18.
The teen is being prosecuted for his “public defense of an act of terrorism committed through a public communication service online.”
