Halimi's killer gets 7 extra years in prison

Gang leader who tortured French Jew to death receives extended sentence for producing anti-Semitic videos behind bars

JTA — The leader of the gang that tortured and killed Ilan Halimi was sentenced to an additional seven years in prison for making anti-Semitic videos in jail.

A correctional court in Moulins found Youssouf Fofana, head of the Gang of Barbarians, guilty of propagating terrorism and inciting racial hatred, the Le Monde newspaper reported. The ruling came on Feb. 13 — seven years to the day of the death of Halimi, a 23-year-old French Jew.

Fofana’s gang kidnapped Halimi and held him for ransom, then tortured him for three weeks before he was found by police. Halimi died on his way to the hospital.

Fofana was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 22 years. Last year he was retried after prison officials found videos he made calling for an “African revolt.”

Jerome Guedj, president of the local council of Essonne — the municipality south of Paris where Halimi was murdered — last week announced a new fund for fighting anti-Semitism named for Halimi. Each year the fund will distribute $13,000 to three individuals who fight anti-Semitism.