Merah video not to be broadcast

A COURT is to rule today on what should happen to recordings by Toulouse scooter killer Mohamed Merah that were posted to the television company Al Jazeera.

The company has decided on ethical grounds not to broadcast the footage of the seven killings, filmed by Merah and has proposed handing it to a judge.

It is in a safe at the Paris offices of the Qatari-owned broadcaster, which has channels in both Arabic and English.

The decision coincided with the initiation of legal action, backed by the victims' families, intended to stop the footage being broadcast.

Al Jazeera said the recordings “add no information that is not already in the public domain”. Its lawyer, Antoine Comte, said: “I do not want to add visual horror to the horror of the facts.”

The head of its Paris office, Zied Tarrouche, said the recordings contained images filmed by the killer using a small camera strapped to his body and saved on a USB key. Each attack is shown, including the victims’ screams, accompanied by religious chants and verses from the Koran.

The decision not to broadcast has been widely praised in the French press as “dignified”. Le Courier Picard said: “We already know what we need to know about the unbelievable events in Toulouse. To have shown the images would have been useless and dangerous.”

However some commentators expressed concern the images might still find their way onto the internet.

The mother of Merah’s first victim, Latifah Ibn Ziaten, said she was “relieved” by the decision and thanked major French channels which had also pledged not to show the images should they gain access to them.

Presidential candidates Sarkozy and Hollande have spoken after Merah’s father threatened legal action against France for the shooting by police of his son.

“I want to remind this man that his son filmed his crimes and took the diabolical care to get the disgusting images to a TV channel,” said Mr Sarkozy. Mr Hollande said: “He only had one thing to do - to remain silent”.

Investigation continues into the killings to find out if he was helped by others, and his brother is still in custody. It is not yet clear who posted the recording of the crimes.

Permission has been given for Merah’s family to transfer his body to Algeria for burial.