This archive report was first published on 22 November 2019.
On November 22, 2019, a French court handed down a 28-year prison sentence to Bilal Taghi, a 27-year-old man who had attempted to travel to Syria for jihad before stabbing two prison guards at Osny prison northwest of Paris.
Taghi used the hinge of his cell window, which he had sharpened, to carry out the attack. He also drew a heart on a window with the blood of his victims and etched the symbol of the Islamic State group on a metal door.
During his trial, Taghi initially appeared unrepentant, stating that he had wanted to kill a representative of the French state on behalf of the Islamic State group and would do so again if given the chance. However, he later expressed remorse for his actions and claimed to have renounced extremism.
The prosecution dismissed Taghi's expressions of regret, describing him as a compulsive liar who was 'irrevocably committed to radical ideology.'
Taghi's attack led to a review of the way in which radicalised prisoners are managed in French prisons. At the time of the attack, Osny prison was one of four in France that had been chosen to trial dedicated counter-extremism wings.
Taghi was critical of the activities offered to radicalised prisoners, including yoga and painting, which he saw as 'childish.' He also argued that holding prisoners in anti-radicalisation wings separately from others was counter-productive.
