Murder of Ilan Halimi

Ilan Halimi
Born	(1982-10-11)11 October 1982
Died	13 February 2006(2006-02-13) (aged 23) Paris, France
Cause of death	Injuries from torture
Occupation	Cell phone salesman

Ilan Halimi (Hebrew: אילן חלימי) was a young French Jewish man of Moroccan descent who was kidnapped on 21 January 2006 by a group called the Gang of Barbarians and subsequently tortured, over a period of three weeks, resulting in his death.

Personal life

Halimi was a cell phone salesman in Paris. He lived there with his divorced mother and his two sisters.

Kidnapping

Halimi was abducted and taken to Bagneux where he was held captive and tortured for three weeks. A demand for ransom was made to his parents. He was released and found in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois. He died on the way to hospital.

Halimi was initially buried in the Cimetière parisien de Pantin near Paris before being reburied in Givat Shaul cemetery (also known as Har HaMenuchot) in Israel on February 9, 2007. The funeral in Paris drew a large Jewish crowd.

Aftermath

More than 1,000 persons marched through the streets of Paris, demanding justice for Ilan Halimi, on Sunday February 26, 2006.

In May 2011, a garden in the 12th arrondissement of Paris was renamed after him. Halimi used to play in this garden as a child.

Paris, Jardin Ilan Halimi, Sign

His mother (Ruth) published a book (written together with Émilie Frèche) about his case: 24 jours: la vérité sur la mort d’Ilan Halimi (Seuil, ISBN 978-2020910286).