After 43 years, French prosecutors are moving to bring six individuals to trial before a special terrorism court in connection with the deadly 1982 attack on the Jo Goldenberg Jewish restaurant in Paris, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
The brazen assault, which claimed six lives and injured at least 20, was the deadliest antisemitic attack in France since World War II at the time.
The bombing and shooting, which occurred in August 1982 in the heart of the Jewish quarter, came amidst a wave of violence attributed to Palestinian Arab terrorists. There has been no prior trial related to this long-unresolved case.
The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office (PNAT) confirmed its request for a trial, specifically naming Walid Abdulrahman Abu Zayed, suspected of being one of the terrorists. Abu Zayed has been detained in France since late 2020.
Also targeted for trial are Nizar Tawfik Mussa and Mahmoud Khader, both suspected of murder and attempted murder in connection with a terrorist organization. PNAT further seeks the trial of three additional individuals on charges of complicity in murder and complicity in attempted murder, also in connection with a terrorist organization.
Arrest warrants have been issued for the suspects, though the current whereabouts of five of them within France remain unknown.
The 1982 attack involved two groups of terrorists who arrived separately, first employing grenades and then machine guns against customers and staff at the restaurant on Rue des Rosiers.
French media reports indicated that the terrorists were believed to be members of the Fatah-Revolutionary Council (Fatah-RC), a radical group then headquartered in Iraq and led by the Abu Nidal organization.