Peter Cherif, also known as Abu Hamza, is a French Islamic militant who has been a member of

Al-Qaeda in Iraq Al-Qaeda in Iraq (; AQI), was a Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization affiliated with al-Qaeda. It was founded on 17 October 2004, and was led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi until its disbandment on 15 October 2006 after he was killed in a targ ...

and

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ( or : Tanẓīm Qā‘idat al-Jihād fī Jazīrat al-‘Arab, . Organization of Jihad's Base in the Arabian Peninsula), or AQAP is a Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamic extremism, Islamist militant organization which s ...

. He is also believed to have assisted the planning of the ''Charlie Hebdo'' shooting. He was arrested in Djibouti on 16 December 2018, and

extradited In an extradition, one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdic ...

to France on charges of terrorism. As of December 2024, he is still in prison without parole.

Early life

Cherif was born sometime in 1982 near the

Parc des Buttes Chaumont The Parc des Buttes Chaumont (; English: Park of Buttes Chaumont) is a public park situated in northeastern Paris, France, in the 19th arrondissement. Occupying , it is the fifth-largest park in Paris, after the Bois de Vincennes, Bois de Bou ...

in the

19th arrondissement of Paris The 19th arrondissement of Paris (''XIXe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''dix-neuvième''. The arrondissement, known as Butte-Chaumont, ...

, France. His father, who died when his son was 14, was a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Afro-Caribbean Afro-Caribbean or African Caribbean people are Caribbean people who trace their full or partial ancestry to Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the modern Afro-Caribbean people descend from the Indigenous peoples of Africa, Africans (primarily fr ...

immigrant. His mother, Myriam, was born in Tunisia.

Radicalization

Cherif converted to Islam in 2003 and was radicalised by the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Farid Benyettou was his mentor. In early 2004, Cherif took part in protests against a French law banning Islamic head scarves in public schools. He was filmed by news crews and police intelligence officers next to Farid Benyettou. He left for

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

in May 2004, saying he was going to join friends studying at a Koranic school. The school was known as a way station for European fighters on their way to

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. U.S. troops in Iraq captured Cherif and another Frenchman near

Fallujah Fallujah ( ) is a city in Al Anbar Governorate, Iraq. Situated on the Euphrates, Euphrates River, it is located roughly to the west of the capital city of Baghdad and from the neighboring city of Ramadi. The city is located in the region ...

on 2 December 2004. He was wounded twice fighting in the

First Battle of Fallujah The First Battle of Fallujah, code-named Operation Vigilant Resolve, was an American-led operation of the Iraq War against militants in Fallujah as well as an attempt to apprehend or kill the perpetrators of the killing of four U.S. contractor ...

and the

Second Battle of Fallujah The Second Battle of Fallujah, initially codenamed Operation Phantom Fury, Operation al-Fajr (, ) was an American-led offensive of the Iraq War that began on 7 November 2004 and lasted about six weeks. A joint military effort of the United ...

. Cherif was detained, unarmed, at a checkpoint and imprisoned at

Camp Bucca Camp Bucca () was a forward operating base that housed a theater internment facility maintained by the United States military in the vicinity of Umm Qasr, Iraq. After being taken over by the U.S. military (800th Military Police Brigade) in April ...

. In August 2005, he was transferred to

Abu Ghraib prison Abu Ghraib prison (, ''Sijn Abū Ghurayb'') was a prison complex in Abu Ghraib, Iraq, located west of Baghdad. Abu Ghraib prison was opened in the 1960s and served as a maximum-security prison. From the 1970s, the prison was used by Saddam Hus ...

. He was convicted in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

in July 2006 for illegally crossing the border, and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He escaped in March 2007 in a prison break by the

Islamic State of Iraq The Islamic State of Iraq (ISI; ') was a Salafi jihadist militant organization that fought the forces of the U.S.-led coalition during the Iraqi insurgency. The organization aimed to overthrow the Iraqi federal government and establish an ...

. He travelled to Syria, where he was arrested, extradited, and served 18 months in prison in France. He was released pending trial and fled the country to Yemen. He was sentenced to five years in prison, in absentia, for being a member of a terrorist organization on 16 August 2012. In the summer of 2011, he was present at a meeting with Chérif Kouachi in Yemen to plan the ''Charlie Hebdo'' shooting. Peter Cherif helped provide Kouachi with cash and a few days of al Qaeda training, according to French and U.S. intelligence officials. In May 2011, he was involved in interpreting for AQAP in the case of three French aid workers kidnapped in Yemen by the group. According to his

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

listing, he has been involved in the recruitment of foreign fighters and facilitated their travel to Yemen from Tunisia, via Oman. He is also suspected to have been identified in 2013 on a speedboat, during a reconnaissance operation along the Hadramawt coast of Yemen in order to plan a maritime terrorist attack. He lived with his wife and children in the town of

Mukalla Mukalla, officially the Mukalla City District, is a seaport and the capital city district of Yemen's largest governorate, Hadhramaut Governorate, Hadhramaut. The city is in the South Arabia, southern part of the Arabian Peninsula on the Gulf of A ...

, Hadramawt province, Yemen, and believed to be working for the "legal service" of AQAP. He was arrested in Djibouti on 16 December 2018 and within a short term in which his legal status had to be cleared by the authorities

to France. In January 2019, Cherif's wife, Soulef A, was provisionally detained on charges of criminal association with terrorists and financing a terrorist enterprise. On 16 September 2024, he was on trial at a court in Paris. He was sentenced to life imprisonment on 3 October 2024.

US and UN sanctions

Cherif was sanctioned by the United States Department of the State on 29 September 2015. He was listed on 29 September 2015 by the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

as "being associated with Al-Qaida for "participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf of, or in support of", "recruiting for" and "otherwise supporting act or activities" of Al-Qaida in Iraq and Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cherif, Peter Charlie Hebdo shooting French al-Qaeda members Members of al-Qaeda in Iraq Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Converts to Islam Living people 1982 births French people of Tunisian descent